


click click bang bang

by cataclysmicwriter



Category: Multi-Fandom, NCT (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate universe - Mafia, Assassins!RedVelvet, BAMF!Jungwoo, CEO!Irene, F/F, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, also seulgi is her gf bc ofc, but they love each other very much, irene and jungwoo are stepsiblings, irene is scary to everyone but soft to her bro and gf, mafia!au, no beta we just die, suju and day6 are just mentioned, ten and taeyong are so in love, wrote this fic to make ceo irene happen bc honestly thats really hot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 50,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23053954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cataclysmicwriter/pseuds/cataclysmicwriter
Summary: kim jungwoo, second child of a thriving chaebol family, was sent to the philippines ten years ago for reasons he didn't quite understand. after coming home to find his sister bloodied in his apartment, jungwoo is revealed to a life she has been protecting him from— a life of mafias and rivalry.or, au where jungwoo is thrust into a mafia estate for protection and he falls in love with the life, the people, and maybe the boss.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 75
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Scouts_Rocketship](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scouts_Rocketship/gifts).



> giving this one to @Scouts_Rocketship, one of my closest friends who made me all hyped up about nct when i was just a neutral fan. although this isnt ur ideal ship, i hope u enjoy reading this anyways.
> 
> worked on this for a year and im not pleased with some parts but i really love some chapters i wrote. i hope i get my shit together so i can publish this as complete

**jungwoo**

junior year was supposed to be the better part of his three years in college so far, but unfortunately for jungwoo, shit started to go down when his stepsister visited him during his first day of classes.

life, despite his many misfortunes, was much much easier before that day. kim jungwoo was the second son to the owner of sm holdings and the one tasked to take over the business if anything happens to his older sister. which, to be completely honest, was highly unlikely. his stepsister gracefully slipped into the position, and no one ever doubted that she’ll be running it for years and years.

with the perfect eldest offspring running things smoothly, his parents felt no need for him and shipped him off to some private international school in the philippines where he stayed for a decade. _why_ the philippines, he wasn’t really sure. but he had an inkling that his parents wanted to cut him off from probably marring the prestigious name of sm holdings—and they did it successfully by putting him there.

his only exposure to business was—nothing, really. save the said stepsister, of course, who would fly to his side of the continent once a month just to see him, which didn’t really expose him to the business side of things. maybe the lack of training in that field came from the fact that everyone thought joohyun as immortal and decided that they didn’t need to prepare him in case he had to take over because it was never going to happen.

thankfully, his time in the philippines gave him an unencumbered life compared to what his sister had to go through. sure, he had to go to a private school in the more expensive side of metro manila but that was the extent of his parents’ authority over him. they hardly visited and even agreed when he told them that he planned on taking a non-management course in a state college. which was honestly a huge feat.

almost twenty years without being forced to deal with anything related to sm holdings honestly made him think that he won’t ever have to work for his sister ever. if joohyun needs him for anything, of course he’ll help but as much as possible he’d avoid sm holdings like the plague. he probably won’t even step into south korean soil, if he could help it.

of course, this kind of wishful thinking was bound to get him into trouble. 

drastic changes usually slap him in the face at the most unexpected moments so his first day started off normal. from 7 am aerobics down to the political theory which ended at 3pm, he only had one koreaboo call him oppa and one european exchange student ask him where he lived in china. it was nothing out of the ordinary, and his day actually went pretty smoothly compared to his usually unfortunate day-to-day experience. 

but by the time he walked out of the campus and saw that he missed three calls from an hour ago, things started going downhill very fast. 

seeing that his roommate had called, he rang jeno up. jeno answered immediately. "jungwoo! thank god." 

“hey, what’s up?” jungwoo answered, crossing the street. “i know we ran out of laundry soap so i’ll head over to robinson’s really quick. do we need anything else?”

there was rustling from the other side of the line. “no! no– uh, jungwoo, forget the soap. we kinda need you right now.”

jungwoo paused at his tone. from the moment jeno said _yeah_ and the way he was talking in korean, he could already tell something was wrong. “jeno. what happened?”

“there are five women here who are looking for you, and three of them almost killed haechan for trying to patch up the wounded one.”

suddenly, jungwoo was panicking. “holy shit, someone’s wounded?”

“yeah, man, just—get here quick!”

“i’m five minutes away _waitforme_.” he rushed out before running towards their building.

it wasn’t a long run which he was thankful for, but his body was not made to handle the sudden strain. the sun was too hot as it always is, and the sweat was pooling on his back. jungwoo wheezed his way through the lobby and towards the elevator, where he was left with the unflattering sound of elevator music and his dying breaths.

by the time he got to their floor, he was emanating panic in waves. he had a feeling that one of those scary women was his sister and by the time he barged in his apartment, his fear was confirmed.

his sister, in all her fearless, regal glory, was lying down bloodied on their couch with a terrified haechan covering what seemed to be a– _wait, was she shot at_? 

jungwoo's heart beat painfully quicker when he saw that there was blood all over her white silk shirt, with all the other women she was with looked grim. “holy shit.” he exclaimed, running towards joohyun. “ _holyshit—_ noona what the fuck happened _?”_

joohyun was really really pale, and by the looks of the bloodied cloth on the floor next to haechan, she bled a lot before he got there. “there’s my baby brother.” she said calmly in korean. “how was school?”

“are you serio— _what happened to you_?” jungwoo asked, panicking some more when he eyed the tweezers and the unmistakable golden glint of a bloodied bullet inside a small bowl. he turned to look at haechan. “haechan, what happened?"

“i-i don’t know, these women were in our apartment messing with the first aid kit and tried to fucking kill me when i tried dress her wound.” haechan stammered. “jungwoo, how do you know all these people?”

"this is my sister, joohyun.” 

"your _sister_? what the hell, you told me she was swee–" haechan was cut off with a cool look from joohyun. he then pressed his lips together tightly, showing no sign of speaking soon unless addressed to.

"i'm sorry i only got to introduce you to each other now, but i'll answer your questions later." jungwoo rushed out before turning back to her sister. “noona, who did this to you?”

“jungwoo, calm down. i’m fine. i just lost a lot of blood.” joohyun told him. her expression had the same calm from moments ago but her eyes were now fond as she stared down at her stepbrother. “this… man helped us out and patched me up when my girls got me here. i mean, i could have done it myself but your roommate was very insistent." 

the way joohyun said “man” and "roommate" with grudging respect could have made jungwoo smile in any other situation. the fact that she even _let_ him touch her was a feat itself. but joohyun— 

quickly taking both of her hands with his shaking ones, jungwoo sat next to her. "tell me what happened."

“we just… had a run-in with some really bad people.” she said, sitting up and wincing. the girls stirred, looking worriedly at jungwoo’s sister. joohyun stopped them with a look, eyes on them as she said, “we’re fine now."

jungwoo glanced at the other girls, noticing that they all had some scars and wounds of their own. despite their injuries, they stood next to his sister like bodyguards. one of them, jungwoo realized belatedly, was his sister’s girlfriend— seulgi. her easy smile was nowhere to be seen now, and she nodded once towards jungwoo in acknowledgement.

despite holding themselves up well, their faces were grim and they looked heavily beat up. it suddenly dawned on jungwoo that something was very, very wrong. “let's– let's call the police. you all look– noona, someone _shot_ you– w-we have to call someone–" 

“kim jungwoo.” joohyun interrupted sternly, cutting him off with a gentle hand on his shoulder. “there is no need for that. calm down.”

“ _calm down?_ noona, someone tried to kill you! you are bleeding! on my couch! we—"

“this isn’t something you go to the police for, woo.” joohyun interrupted him again, sighing. her eyebrow twitched and eyes flickered briefly to her side as if the massive wound was merely a slight discomfort. as if she was used to it.

the hairs on jungwoo’s neck stood. _maybe she is._

understanding dawned upon him, the words like cold water trickling down his spine. jungwoo may be academically tragic, but he’s not stupid. there’s something he doesn’t know, something happening for _years_ without his knowledge. and joohyun was forced to tell him now. 

“haechan.” jungwoo suddenly called out, eyes still on his sister. “i’m sorry but can you get us food? they must be hungry.”

said ladies had their gazes sharply attached on jeno and haechan, who both looked ready to bolt. the girls looked untrusting, as if jungwoo’s roommates had a disloyal bone in their body. “i, uh, sure.” haechan said, his eyes understanding as they landed on jungwoo.

“jeno, come on.” haechan called out to their other roommate. “let’s get chicken.”

“a-um, okay.” jeno said, springing to get his car keys.

“wait.” joohyun suddenly said in english, her voice stern. which was, highly unnecessary. the other two could speak korean perfectly and they were scared enough as it is.

the whole room stilled and turned to look at her, every single one of them awaiting further instruction.

“wendy,” joohyun called out, and one of the scary girls stepped forward. “go with them.”

“yes, irene.” the girl nodded once, before moving towards haechan and jeno. “i’ll go with you.” she told them in perfect english, making it clear that they have no choice.

“uh, alright, miss…?”

“wendy. my friends call me wendy.” she said, smiling with no warmth.

the rest of them watched as the three slipped out of the apartment door with a soft click. then jungwoo turned to look at his stepsister, worrying his lip. “noona.”

joohyun sighed again, which was unusual. his sister sighed only when things did not go her way; normally, she had every detail properly thought out and executed. this whole situation must have derailed her plans— maybe not enough for her to bring out her wrath but just enough to make it annoying. 

_annoyed_ , jungwoo realized. joohyun was annoyed. a whole fucking wound to her side, and she didn’t even seem pissed off about it.

“jungwoo. i’m sorry you have to see me like this,” she started to say, putting a hand briefly on the side of his face before letting it fall to her lap. “there’s something you need to know.”

jungwoo waited patiently as his sister looked at him calmly for a few more seconds, before saying, “jungwoo. you’re not safe anymore.”

“safe?” jungwoo asked, completely confused. “safe from _what_ , noona? what the fuck is happening?”

“i ignored it the first few times but you have to watch your language.” she scolded automatically. jungwoo wanted to rip his hair out; she’s _bleeding_ on the couch because of a bullet wound from god knows where, and she’s scolding him for _cussing_.

“noona.” jungwoo said impatiently. “tell me.”

joohyun shot him a half-assed glare before her eyes flickered to seulgi. “it… has something to do with the corporation.” she said slowly, dragging her eyes back to him.

“something to do with why i was shipped here in the philippines cargo?” jungwoo asked, earning a slightly surprised look from his sister. “oh, don’t look at me like that. there must be a real reason i was sent to study here for ten years without any warning. when you told me it was because our parents wanted to expand sm holdings here, i only believed it for the first couple of years until i realized they didn’t push me into learning anything business-related.”

there was something akin to pride on the way joohyun looked at him. which, was honestly a bit insulting because he really wasn't that dumb. "don't look too surprised. i got this from you. and it really doesn't take much to put two and two together." jungwoo muttered. 

"sorry." joohyun exhaled, still looking a bit proud. "it just makes things much easier."

“easier for what, exactly?”

“for me to tell you that my mom and your dad didn’t put you here to cut you off. they let you believe they did, because we… we got tangled up with some dangerous people.”

“these dangerous people are the reason why i’m here, and why you got shot at?” jungwoo asked, confused. his heart was beating way too fast and he couldn’t really understand what his sister was getting at. “noona, who...?”

“i will tell you but i need you to listen to me carefully. i have to tell you everything, so you know what we’re dealing with. i’m going to need your help soon—but we’ll get to that later.”

jungwoo frowned at her. “what do you mean? you know i’ll agree to it anyways.”

there was a sad smile on joohyun’s face that jungwoo didn’t like. “i’m afraid you don’t know just what it is yet. will you listen to me first?”

jungwoo nodded, eyes solely on his sister as she readied herself to tell him the truth. shifting from her seat, joohyun leaned a bit forward towards her stepbrother. “ten years ago, around the time i was around your age, sm holdings had a disagreement with their—sorry, _our_ most important alliance. white serpents.”

“white serpents? what kind of corporation name is that?” jungwoo can’t help but ask.

joohyun smiled at him with a mix of amusement and remorse. “it’s not a corporation, woo. it’s a… family. mafia.”

jungwoo’s stomach dropped. “sorry, what?”

"a mafia."

jungwoo gaped at his stepsister, nodding once to signify he understood her with his eyebrows raised. there was a part of him that understood that running a corporation would be somewhat dangerous. he knows people can get extremely greedy, and with that greed comes many terrible things.

but to become associated with a mafia? drugs, prostitution, sketchy clubs? this was something that happens to people from _the godfather_ , not rich effeminate korean boys shipped to the philippines like him.

“jungwoo, i need you to understand that this is how life works for us back in seoul. the way chaebols work since—god, since so many years ago, is to affiliate themselves with the underground kingpins in order to get around smoothly.” joohyun explained as gently as she could. “not every corporation, of course, but it happens. a lot."

jungwoo’s mind reeled at the information. that must be why joohyun was always so fearless, so unflinching with what the world throws her. she’s been dealing with the fucking mafia, possibly living every day in danger. years of complaining to his sister about every mundane thing that happened to him seem so insignificant now.

their last video call was him complaining about aerobics. he was planning to complain some more while his sister was getting _shot at._ he had never felt so stupid.

“oh my god.” jungwoo muttered shakily, running both hands on his face. “i can’t believe this.”

joohyun smiled thinly. “our end of the deal is money and connections in the corporate scene, while they do the dirty work and get us what we want in the underworld—information, protection, whatever they can offer. we also do multiple favors by putting their activities under our name. it doesn't sound like much; after all, businesses headed by the mafia usually thrive. but in order to reach bigger names, they need us." 

jungwoo stared at his sister, completely speechless. joohyun frowned worriedly. "are you.. getting it?" 

"yes noona, but it's just a lot to take in." 

"okay, take your time–"

"no, no it's fine. go on." jungwoo interrupted. "you mentioned a... disagreement with the serpents?" 

joohyun nodded. "we were a sealed deal up until thirteen years ago.” she continued, her gaze flicking briefly towards seulgi before landing back at him.

“what happened?”

“it was discovered that the cfo had sexually assaulted one of the serpent girls.” joohyun said, her eyes burning with a terrible rage. 

"she– she wasn't like one of us." seulgi said, her voice cracking. it was the first time she spoke all night. "she didn't know how to fight; she was fourteen." 

jungwoo's face crumpled into one of utter distress. _jesus._

  
there were remnants of the destructive rage left in joohyun's eyes as she looked at jungwoo. "while we… _dealt_ with the cfo, the serpents decided to withdraw their support for a couple of years. it was an amicable

parting, and we acknowledged that it was a fault on our part. but then, around the second year without them protecting us, their rivals attacked. the jiàns.”

jungwoo watched something dangerous and angry dance behind his sister's eyes, the hairs on his neck rising. “what did they do?” he asked quietly.

“the jiàns killed our cousin suzy, as well as her husband and children. to ‘send a message’.” joohyun muttered, her voice cracking. the rage was slipping from her now, jungwoo can taste it on his mouth. there was a faint taste of bile too, a sudden despair for what had happened. 

jungwoo wasn’t particularly close to his sister's cousin, but she used to make him sugar cookies when they would visit the family estate in gangwon. she was sweet, and always talked in soft tones. her eyes were always warm, and her family was an affectionate group who always initiated hugging and laughed with their whole bodies. 

the day of her and her family’s funeral, their parents were seething with destructive anger. this was before he left for the philippines; back then, he knew something was very wrong. a whole family dead was something to be worried about, and having all caskets closed even more so. 

but he never thought to ask. and this might be the reason why he was sent here all those years ago. “fuck.”

joohyun composed herself, schooling her features into a blank, serious expression. “the serpents immediately went back to our side and swore to repay the cost of their decision. that’s how i met seulgi. she serves as an ambassador for the serpents from time to time. she also happens to be the cousin of the current head of the family.” at the mention of the mafia’s leader, his sister’s eye twitched in annoyance. there must be a story somewhere there, but all jungwoo could think about was seulgi.

jungwoo turned to look at his sister’ s girlfriend with wide eyes. cheery, pretty kang seulgi— _mafia_ _royalty,_ basically _._

for the first time ever since he went inside the apartment, seulgi shot him a genuine, empathetic smile. in the eight years that he’s known her, she always was so… un-mafiay. more like a really hot, really cool college student activist who has a 3.8 gpa, is good at every possible hobby, and advocates for the lgbtq+ community as well as the environment.

“woo, don’t look too scared.” joohyun laughed lightly. “she’s still your seulgi noona. she won’t do anything terrible to you.”

“uh, but she very much can.”

“i can’t, woo.” seulgi interjected. there was amusement dancing in her eyes as she shared a look with joohyun. “you’re family.”

“thank god.” jungwoo said sincerely, earning an amused noise from joohyun and a laugh from seulgi. he then narrowed his eyes to the two other girls who have been silent during the whole exchange.

“i’m guessing both of you have the ability to ruin my life as well.” he said solemnly. “sorry—i don’t believe we’ve met. my name is jungwoo.” jungwoo was about to bow from his seat, but then joohyun stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

he turned to look questioningly at his sister, but the one nearest to seulgi was already stepping forward and introducing herself. “hello, jungwoo. my name’s joy." she greeted formally, bowing to him. 

jungwoo's mouth drops open. _oh_ , he realized. he's technically their boss, being joohyun's brother. 

seulgi smiled at the exchange. “joy’s the one who finds information for us. she also knows her way through computers, among many things.”

jungwoo stared at joy, who was smiling now. there was something dangerous about her grin, something too scary for a face as pretty as hers. "uh, cool."

“beside her is yeri, our weapons expert and hitman. she knows every technique on how to kill a man even from miles away.” seulgi said, motioning to the girl beside joy. "but she's also talented in dismembering a person right in front of her."

his jaw dropped as he turned to look at the smaller girl, who wiggled her fingers at him. _weapons expert? hitman? can kill a man? dismembering?_

the words made him zone out slightly as he stared at yeri. unlike joy, yeri's smile seemed to light up her whole body and jungwoo was finding it very hard to see her as someone who can kill. “hello!” she said with an accented english, then bowed.

jungwoo didn't know what to feel. "uh. hello."

seulgi looked like she couldn't decide whether she should proceed to freak him out with more information or to stop completely. she nervously looked at her girlfriend, with joohyun only nodding encouragingly at her. she coughed nervously. “um, so yeah. wendy, the one who left with your friends, does much of the fieldwork with joy. she knows multiple languages and is extremely good with tactics.” seulgi said, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

"that's… wow. that's a lot."

“yeah. joy, yeri, and wendy all have different specialties but they’re all trained in… taking care of people.” she winced slightly at the explanation, which jungwoo caught. "i also lead the missions, make sure things run smoothly." 

there was a pregnant pause as the rest of them waited for the information to sink in. “wait, so you're saying you– like, kang seulgi and the rest of the ladies– are… assassins? something like that?" jungwoo asked weakly, waiting for them to confirm what he already knows.

“yes, woo.” joohyun answered for her, but seulgi was already looking at him helplessly that it was confirmation enough. her face seemed to say _sorry, dear, i completely shattered the kind perfect older sister idea you had of me._

jungwoo's head started to throb painfully. the last time he had this kind of headache was when he was cramming a whole semester worth of first level japanese the night before his finals. it was a mixture of stress, information overload, and the immense desire to sleep throughout his problems. 

how he's handling all the information without throwing himself off the window to end his suffering was an absolute mystery. 

“wait, wait, wait. can we take a quick breather."

"of course." joohyun said immediately.

jungwoo ran a hand through his face as he sighed. "so, here’s what i got so far.” he started to summarize, hands lightly shaking. “we've been affiliated with the mafia ever since. mafia evils killed our family. the scary girls seulgi noona brought with her are actual assassins from the mafia as well. noona got shot. did i get it all right?” 

joohyun nodded, holding a thumbs up with one hand– which, to jungwoo, felt extremely out of place with their current situation. releasing a tired sigh, jungwoo asked,"anything else that i need to know before we move on?"

his sister frowned for a bit, before her face lit up. "oh, seulgi and her team are known underground as red velvet. just putting it out there."

“red—but _why?_ ” jungwoo asked before taking it back. “you know what, don’t answer that. i have more questions. so sm and the serpents are good now right? they reconciled after what happened to suzy and her family?

joohyun's eyes darkened at the mention of this, nodding once. 

"what happened to the jiàns?” jungwoo asked, eyebrows furrowing with worry. “were they… wait, did they do this to you?”

“that’s what we initially thought. right after the serpents hit back, the jiàns called a truce and retreated. relations with them was a ticking time bomb ready to explode all over our faces ever since then, so we had to send you here. the jiàns were blacklisted in the country and they have rivals from all parts of metro manila—both politicians and mafia groups alike. if they were to step on philippine soil, a lot of people would be after them so we didn’t have to worry about you.” joohyun explained. “we have allies here, as well. thus my supposedly long visit; i was going to meet with them.”

jungwoo raised an eyebrow at the way she intentionally didn’t mention the names. 

“but then, the attack happened. we went to quezon to meet up with one of our family friends—then there was a shooting at their estate. their leader was shot dead, and we managed to kill all of them before they can cause more damage. when we inspected the bodies, there was not a single sigil nor token of any family on their person.”

joohyun then gestured towards the girl next to seulgi. jungwoo almost forgot about the two other girls, and it was unnerving how they managed to blend in the background. “however joy managed to track down the last call made on one phone, and it was traced back to our headquarters in seoul.”

jungwoo froze, ice sliding down his back. “someone from our corporation wanted you dead.”

this is not good. this is _not good_. 

jungwoo's sister was a workaholic; her time in seoul, from what jungwoo knows, is mostly spent inside the corporate building than at home. with someone from the corporation wanting her dead, she's constantly exposing herself to danger by entering the office. 

"noona, you're in danger. someone from your office wants you _dead_. how are you not freaking out about this?"

"i'm used to people wanting me dead, woo." joohyun waved off, as if it's completely normal. as if it's okay. "the important thing here is that there’s a traitor in our midst. someone knew i was going to the philippines and that i was going to meet our family friend. we think it’s someone from the board of trustees—they are the only ones who know about my agenda.”

“do they know about me?”

“no one knows about you from our current board. they know _of_ you, but not what you look like. i made sure of that.” joohyun said, eyes glinting in a way jungwoo doesn’t entirely like. “in fact, we made sure everyone who knew you in the corporation were… silenced.”

"t-the whole corporation? even media outlets?" jungwoo squeaked. 

joohyun's eyes flashed with satisfaction, among other things. _"everyone_."

there must have been panic in her brother's eyes. “most of them were paid," seulgi quickly added, as if it's any consolation.

“ _most._ ” joohyun repeated under her breath, stopping when seulgi shot her a look.

“anyway, we made sure that those working under us are trusted enough.” joohyun continued, shrugging. “guess we made a mistake.”

jungwoo exhaled, his brows unconsciously furrowed with worry. “what do we do now?”

her sister and seulgi then exchanged a look, making jungwoo feel uneasy. with a softness she only ever reserved for family and seulgi, joohyun then took her brother’s hand, holding it tightly. “woo, i need you to do something for me.”

jungwoo held his sister’s gaze, not entirely sure he liked the way her voice went all soft. “noona. don’t stall, just say it.”

joohyun squeezed his hand a bit more, eyebrow twitching up once as she leaned as close to him as she could with the wound on her side. “i’m sorry baby brother but—we need you to go back with us to seoul.”

there was a hush that swept over the room, the girls gauging jungwoo’s reaction.

jungwoo was stunned into silence, his eyes growing wide. his chest suddenly ached at the thought of leaving. he thought he could at least help out with his limited capabilities _here_ in the philippines. he was ready to do some covert shit under the familiar humid weather.

he hasn’t been back to south korea in what, five years? six? the last time he stepped on south korean soil was when it was a stop-over for a vacation to america, and he didn’t exactly leave incheon airport. that was the only time in his ten years of ‘exile’. he’s more filipino than he is korean, using english and a bit of tagalog in his everyday life.

seoul wasn’t home to him anymore. it’s been so long that there were no friends, no favorite places, no familiarity left for him there. jungwoo wasn’t even close to his parents anymore. they would only visit him once a year, too busy to see their youngest son. whenever they visit, jungwoo finds it slightly awkward to connect to them especially since his father was a quiet man and his stepmother was exactly like joohyun– just with little familial love and more of the asian mother kind of terror. 

he doesn’t know how he’s going to live there without his roommates—they met earlier on in high school and have banded together ever since. they were constants to his best memories in the philippines.

it was already bad enough that he had to deal with all that mafia shit. he had to leave the life he had known for ten years.

“noona, i—i don’t belong there anymore.”jungwoo finally said, after his sister waited patiently for him to sort his thoughts out.

“i understand. believe me, i do. but i have no other choice—we thought it was safe here then this happened. if someone can attack us here, then we might as well bring you back.”

there was a sinking feeling in his chest but he knows that she’s right. he understood that this was the smartest decision for them to make. 

it still felt like absolute shit. he was just about to start junior year as well, he realized. he probably wouldn’t even go to college anymore when he goes back to his hometown.

this didn’t really sit well along with the other thoughts running in his head, but he could only agree with his sister. “okay.”

his sister looked at him worriedly, her hand finding his. “i know i’m not giving you much of an option, but will you be okay? i know this has been your home for the past decade. it will be hard for you to leave.”

“yes, but i also understand that this is important.” jungwoo said, gripping his sister’s hand. “i know you need me there. besides, i don’t think i helped our family in anything business related; this is the least i can do for you all.”

joohyun breathed out a relieved sigh, a small guilty smile gracing her features. “okay. okay, that’s… good.”

“noona, did you actually think i’d say no?” jungwoo asked.

“no, but… as much as possible, i want you to have a choice.”

jungwoo shook his head, staring at his sister in the eyes. “i’ll go with you.”

joohyun smiled again. “that’s good. i get to see you every day from now on.” she muttered, sounding genuinely happy that it lessened the terrible feeling in jungwoo’s stomach. it must have been hard for joohyun all these years, since the only filial love that they ever felt was from each other. 

as if the world wanted to make his life harder, jeno, haechan and wendy went inside the apartment carrying buckets of chicken from their favorite place.

“we have food!” jeno announced, significantly less nervous than he was before they left. jungwoo’s heart dropped at the sight of them, suddenly sad. “it took us quicker than expected.”

he watched as jeno, haechan and wendy maneuvered around each other with a comfort and familiarity that they definitely did not have a while ago. he knew they tend to have that effect. wendy, for all her training and badass experience, must have warmed up to them barely twenty minutes in.

he really is going to miss them.

there was a soft, irritated noise from his side and he turned quickly to see his sister trying to sit closer to him. “noona,” he scolded, “stop moving or you’ll make it worse.”

joohyun ignored him and looped her arm around his. “i’m really sorry, you know that right? i don’t like that you’re constantly asked to adjust because of our business.” she murmured, sounding really apologetic.

jungwoo understood. he really did. it was why he did not show his sadness as much, knowing that it was the right thing to do. but he could only nod at this, offering his sister a small, “don’t worry, i understand.” he said sincerely. after all, it was hard to stay mad at his sister, who was pouting with her chin resting on his shoulder. 

“schnoopy boy!” jeno called affectionately, smiling as he motioned for him to go to the kitchen table. “jungwoo’s noona! let’s eat.”

\--

the girls—red velvet, whatever—warmed up to jungwoo’s roommates fairly easy as dinner ensued. this shouldn’t have surprised jungwoo; after all, the two were very lovable in the way younger brothers are. he assumed that red velvet would be trained against emotional attachments like this, but then again they may have seen how jungwoo acted around them. they also might have noticed how genuine jeno and haechan were, with their easy smiles and warm personalities. 

he was relatively silent throughout dinner. joohyun and seulgi kept shooting worried looks his way, which he pretended not to see.

“woo, you okay?” haechan asked suddenly, after the table fell into a comfortable silence. his words then triggered some tension, as the girls looked at him with empathetic eyes.

jeno caught this reaction.“what's up? are you not feeling well?”

jungwoo smiled bravely, dropping his cutlery. “i was going to wait for the right moment but then again i’m not sure when that will be.” he started to say.

haechan and jeno exchanged looks. “what do you mean?” haechan asked carefully. “what’s happening?”

“i, uh.” jungwoo began. “i’m leaving.”

there was another silence, although it was tense this time. “what?” jeno asked quietly, breaking jungwoo’s heart.

“i’m so sorry, guys, but apparently i’m not safe here anymore.” jungwoo told them, tearing up. joohyun looked ready to rush towards his side, but seulgi put a careful hand on her shoulder. “the people who shot at my sister could be after me right now.”

whatever joy they had from their playful banter with the girls earlier that night faded from their eyes, and both jeno and haechan started to look extremely upset. “fuck, man. that sucks.” haechan muttered. "can we at least ask why?"

"i… well, i can't say much but there are just bad people who are after our family." jungwoo explained. jeno and haechan looked horrified.

"oh shit." 

“i’m so sorry about all this. i don’t think they know about me yet, so you guys are safe. but before anything else could happen, noona advised me that we should leave together and go back to seoul. i'll be safer there.”

"when will you be leaving?" 

jungwoo looked towards his sister questioningly. joohyun gave him an apologetic smile. "tonight." 

jungwoo's heart clenched. the other two nodded solemnly in understanding, mirroring jungwoo’s look of misery. “so… does this mean we’ll never get to see you again?” jeno asked, voice small. 

the sight must have looked pitiful because joohyun was suddenly leaning forward with a worried frown. “we can arrange for you boys to meet in seoul—” she started to say, only to be stopped by seulgi with a look.

seulgi said something to joohyun softly in mandarin, which made her frown. jungwoo smiled sadly as his sister shot an apologetic look towards him. “sorry, woo. i guess they have to stay here.”

“it’s alright.” haechan said quickly. “i don’t think our parents would want us to leave school anyways.”

“yeah, man, go do your thing.” jeno added, although there was a sad look on his face. “we’ll be here. you can call us if you need anything.”

“we’ll be here.” haechan repeated, nodding. “you don’t have to worry; there really are scary wackjobs out there so we understand.”

“plus,” jeno added, voice cracking, “this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing each other. right?”

“of course not.” jungwoo said immediately, eyes tearing up. the girls of red velvet politely averted their gazes. "we have skype?"

"skype sucks, but sure whatever. also, we'll just visit you."

"yeah dude, it's not like we don't go to south korea anymore. we'll visit you on our next break, no matter how short. if we could, we'd go there during the long weekend."

"yeah like it's just four hours away. and our parents are rich, they can pay."

jungwoo laughed at this and felt his hopes lift, despite himself. he knows it's going to be hard, but the fact that his roommates were willing to make it work made him feel optimistic. 

"alright, i guess that's settled." joohyun said softly, offering the other boys a smile. both of them startled– it was the first smile his stepsister gave them. "thank you for accommodating us and for taking care of my brother."

there was a pause. the rest of them patiently waited for jungwoo's roommates to reply, as they seemed to think that the smile and thanks from joohyun was just a collective fever dream. 

the nearest assassin, joy, finally decided to gently elbow jeno to stop him from gaping at irene. 

"oh!" he squeaked. "oh. sure, no prob."

haechan recovered from his shock as well, and was nodding along. "anything for our bro."

the tense mood lifted into something lighter and there was an air of hope that wasn't there during the whole panic. jungwoo couldn't help but think that this might be because of joohyun's extremely rare smile; it tends to have a magical effect. 

later that night, after joohyun made a few phone calls and had their things retrieved from their hotel room, jungwoo packed up all his things and got himself ready to say goodbye to his best friends. 

"you'll both have to visit us sometime." irene said, smiling at the other two warmly as they prepared to leave. 

"of course, of course." jeno rushed out, although it was clear that he wasn't sure how. 

"we're leaving now, but remember to message me through telegram whenever shit goes down." jungwoo told them, hugging both boys. the other two looked at him with sad smiles, trying not to cry.

"yeah, we'll keep in touch." haechan promised. 

"don't think you're getting rid of us so soon." 

jungwoo snorted, although it was a bit wet. "i'll make sure to message you when we land." jungwoo promised, taking one last look at his best friends. 

the rest of the girls already went down, leaving the three of them hovering by the door. irene checked her watch and winced, shooting her brother an apologetic look. "woo, we have to go now." 

"alright." jungwoo sighed. with one last hug for haechan and jeno, the small group went down with their things.

_this may be the last time i'll ever set foot in the philippines_ , jungwoo thought sadly. he didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to his favorite places. not even to his school– which, he's sure irene already handled. 

as they drove off to the airport, jungwoo found himself thanking the traffic for the first time as he took one last look at the place he had called home. 

something big was about to happen. he's sure of it. as they made their way back to south korea, he found himself hoping that what little skills he had was enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is the first scene i wrote. had this idea in my head after watching the boss mv that "what if, yukhei is some mafia dude and jungwoo is not and they meet and shit?" 
> 
> if there are inconsistencies, im sorry just go with it HAHAHA love yall thanks for reading this clusterfuck
> 
> edit: i added to this chapter, because it wasn't as long as i wanted it to be

**lucas**

wong yukhei led the white serpents ever since his father died four years ago. he was only sixteen then.

there was no problem in looking the part; he had the handsome features of his mother, the height of his father, and the grace that came with spending time surrounded by skilled fighters. he is a terrible beauty in every aspect, one who exuded a danger so strong despite the pretty smile on his face.

the serpents were polite enough to him, albeit a bit wary about having a kid handle the family’s affairs. but yukhei had been taught how to handle the run of business since the day he was born. brothels, bars, drugs, and weaponry were all he has ever known. taking over and doing the job well was as easy as breathing.

business eventually ran better under his lead. his father was great but yukhei was better; he asserted his place underground, but he also knew when to showcase his feelings when it mattered. opposite to his father who liked to stifle any kind of emotion in order to have control, yukhei _used_ feelings for control. he knew how to manipulate emotions, and charmed his way into the underworld as they established him as 'the snake who never lies'. 

this reputation had gained him respect and a different sort of power. for all his cunning, yukhei was not one to tell falsities no matter the situation. of course, this does not limit his capability to manipulate; yukhei can still twist words and put ideas into people's heads as easily as breathing. he may not lie, but he distracts and sometimes it's enough to send people to do his bidding. 

his family, however, are immune to his charm and influence. these are the people who watched him grow up, after all. this does not mean they respect him any less; there is no question to their loyalty to him as their leader. they were all well-provided for, all properly treated. problems hardly arise, and if they do they are able to overcome it well. 

but of course, there is also the issue of sm holdings being an extension of their family. 

it’s not that he’s complaining because of unnecessary workload or because he found it troublesome to do all these favors. their family had a debt of sorts, and they take their debts seriously. and their favors weren’t ever unreasonable; there was always a stupid corporation, dumb enough to constantly try and take them down.

it’s just that their lives get a little more… interesting with sm holdings. yukhei finds it funny that the corporation manages seems to get involved in way more drama than the mafia themselves. 

“yukhei?” he heard ten call out from the hallway, his office door open. yukhei, who was looking through the sales of their new bar in gangnam, looked up and sighed. years working with ten made him know just what he was going to inform him by the sound of his footsteps. his footsteps were hurried in a way that was fast enough to be urgent, but slow enough not to be a high-risk emergency.

_irene_ , he thought. “what does she need?” yukhei asked, putting the papers down.

“she’s in grid and told our men that something happened.” ten reported. “she needs you there right now. your cousin is with her… but our men also reported that irene brought her brother.”

this caught his whole attention. barely a month into yukhei’s position, when he just took over, irene had a favor to ask of him. “whatever intel you have on my brother, i want it to disappear.” irene had said, as she casually flipped through a contract that would give the serpents one of their condo units in gangnam—it was a highly-coveted place, one where celebrities and politicians reside. the management keeps their residents safe and overlooks the illegal dealings happening there, which makes it a good safehouse for the serpents. “do not check up on him. do not whisper his name.”

yukhei raised an eyebrow, eyes leaving the paper on her hands. “i will. just answer one question.”

irene’s eyes were unreadable when they looked up from the contract and into yukhei’s. the serpent took it as an affirmative.

“has he ever done something we wouldn’t like?” he asked, fingers tapping on the table and head tilted to the side. there must be a reason why they kept the boy in secret, and he had to know whether it was because of something malevolent.

irene barely smiled and she didn’t then, but her features were slightly softer when her eyes looked down on the contract. “no.” she murmured in finality, not explaining anything further. she then grabbed the montblanc on her breast pocket, taking the cap off and staring into yukhei’s eyes as she did so. “do i have your word?”

yukhei nodded and that was that.

that was four years ago. yukhei didn’t even look at the file they had on him, before telling his men not to speak a word about kim jungwoo and to burn the folder with his name.

and now she brings him into their bar, with no one but seulgi by her side?

“this is… kim jungwoo, right?” yukhei asked his cousin, speaking the name for the first time in four years. for some reason, he thought the name wouldn’t roll off well on his tongue but it was easy. 

ten looked worried, and yukhei could feel it too. “yes. i don’t know what happened, but you have to go there now.”

yukhei quickly stood up, walking past his cousin. “prepare the car. i’ll meet you in the driveway in five minutes.”

“will do.”

-

with his request, the driver managed to get them to the bar ten minutes earlier than expected. yukhei and ten said nothing during the whole ride, both completely lost in the suspense of what’s to come. 

grid was a mixed establishment the serpents own in myeongdong; a coffee shop on the first floor and a speakeasy on the second. the bar should have been closed, as it does every monday. 

but of course it opens for irene bae at one in the morning. 

walking out of the car, ten followed closely behind him. “it feels as if hell's about to break loose.” ten murmured as they headed towards the entrance. 

yukhei knew what he meant. there was an air of anticipation that they could feel even from outside the bar. the bodyguards by the door fidgeted, and when they went inside the vicinity, the staff seemed distracted.

irene tended to have that effect wherever she goes, yukhei thought. her presence held a certain weight that everyone feared and respected; so much so that outsiders would assume that she was on the mafia side of business rather than corporate.

ten called one of the staff over. “where are they?”

“the third private room.”

they walked briskly side by side, bracing themselves for the storm irene always brings with her. yukhei was thankful that his cousin, seulgi, managed to soften the woman even infinitesimally. how someone so cheery like his cousin managed to fall in love with the queen of hell, he isn’t so sure.

once they reached the door of the private room, yukhei did not hesitate to open the door and walk right in.

all the private rooms had nothing of grid’s rustic personality. the interior was silver and sleek, a huge mirror covering the ceiling and velvet black couches extending on three sides of the room. in the middle was a glass table, and the room glowed a faded white from the lights under the couch and on the walls.

yukhei’s eyes landed on irene first, her presence always so loud. she sat with the grace of a monarch, face impassive as she watched yukhei and ten enter. on her right sat her beloved and yukhei’s cousin, seulgi, who offered a small smile to the both of them. and on the other side was—kim jungwoo.

_kim jungwoo._

yukhei took a seat across them, with ten following suit as his eyes focused on the boy. the famed hidden brother was right in front of him at last. the kim child that no one was allowed to talk about, the one who was kept safe in god-knows-where for a decade.

he had expected the familiar kim-bae cold regality on the other boy. he expected to see a man of power, any sort of power, one who can hold himself in a pack of wolves. kim jungwoo was, after all, from the family that built sm holdings—theirs was one of the most untouchable in the corporate scene. he was also the only sibling of the woman whose name is whispered with fear among the devils underground.

yukhei kept on staring. he already knew jungwoo would be a beauty; after all, irene was extremely gorgeous. even when he’s surrounded by so many beautiful and deadly people on a daily basis, yukhei always had such a high regard for irene—not only was she quick, clever, and formidable, her beauty was also unparalleled. there weren’t many people like her in his line of work.

but the boy… he was gorgeous in the way irene never was.

yukhei almost laughed out loud in disbelief. jungwoo looked like an angel who walked in and got lost in the underworld. he has never seen an aura so _pure_ ; there was something so clean about the space he takes up. even the air around him seemed to purify into something more breathable.

it probably was kim jungwoo’s clothes that made him think of an angel—he wasn’t even wearing a suit. his outfit consists of light-colored clothes; a soft white turtleneck, cream colored pants, white sneakers. pulling the whole look together was a thin gold chain with a cross hanging around his neck. it was all so virginal that it made yukhei lick his lips.

the way he sat so timidly next to a now glaring irene, quiet and soft, made yukhei’s heart beat in excitement.

irene’s brother blushed under the faded glow of the private room’s light. he looked flustered when he saw that he had yukhei’s full attention. yukhei, for all his exposure to beautiful and deadly people, couldn’t look away.

“lucas.” irene said sharply, trying to catch the serpent’s attention. yukhei ignored her and kept his eyes on her brother, not embarrassed of his extreme fascination. after all, fallen ones like him haven’t seen such divinity for a long, long time.

jungwoo looked down at the intertwined fingers on his lap before looking back up at yukhei, as if to check if he was still staring. when he saw that he still was, he frowned despite the pink coloring his cheeks and strongly held his gaze. the serpent was absolutely enraptured with the length of his eyelashes and the way his eyes had blinked at him so harmlessly—

“lucas.” irene repeated, her tone expressing a destructive, unarticulated threat.

yukhei then deliberately dragged his gaze slowly away from the boy and towards irene. “oh irene. i’m sorry, i never thought anyone would ever be prettier than you but here he is and i am... distracted.” 

irene’s cold, expressionless face briefly displayed a look of disgust. at her side, seulgi was trying to make inconspicuous neck-slicing motions towards yukhei.

the serpent ignored his cousin and went back to staring at jungwoo, who had a lovely rose shade on both cheeks. “so this is the infamous mystery brother. i have heard a lot about you, kim jungwoo.”

the other boy only met his gaze, not breaking eye contact despite the blush on his cheeks. _cute_ , yukhei thought.

“xuxi.” his other cousin said quietly beside him, as if to tell him not to say anything rash. yukhei's eyes followed ten's and saw that the intertwined hands folded on irene’s lap were clenched too tightly.

satisfied with the emotion he managed to get from irene, he decided not to tick her off further. “he looks absolutely untouched, irene.” yukhei observed, eyes on jungwoo. his words were supposed to come off teasing but there was genuine surprise coloring his words. “it wasn’t wise to bring him here.”

“he’s not safe there anymore.” irene told him, successfully grabbing his full attention. yukhei’s gaze snapped back to the ceo. “a group of men tried to kill me and ended up killing an ally. we barely got out alive.”

“what?”

“we met up with some of our more important connections in manila before visiting my brother—while we were striking a deal, a couple of shooters managed to get past estate security and shot at us. we barely managed to get out alive.”

yukhei frowned. _so they’ve been keeping him in the philippines_ , he thought _._ the philippines, despite having their own problems, was a relatively safe place. it was wise leaving the youngest kim-bae child there. “did you find out anything?”

“the ones that shot at us had no family. they were unmarked. when we traced the calls on their phones, it all pointed to headquarters.” seulgi reported, a hard glint in her eyes. “we believe there’s a traitor in sm holdings.”

the serpent let out a stressed exhale, itching to run a hand through his gelled hair. “fuck. how did this happen?”

“i don’t know. but we will make them pay.” seulgi said quietly, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

“how do you want us to weed them out, then?” yukhei asked, crossing his legs casually. “i have my men at your disposal.”

there was a flicker of amusement in irene’s cold gaze, her brow twitching once to signify that she was pleased. “thank you for your offer, but i’m afraid red velvet will be working closely with me regarding this.” she paused. “there’s another reason why i asked you here, and it’s not just to update you with what’s happening.”

yukhei tilted his head slightly in confusion, brows furrowing. “so… i won’t be working with you on the traitor, then?”

irene nodded. “we’ll call on you if needed.”

“what is it that you want me to do for you, irene-ssi?” yukhei asked, although he had a feeling where this was going.

she spared a careful glance at her brother. “i want you to keep my brother within your family’s estate. keep him safe, just until we find out who the traitor is. we can’t risk having the wrong people know that my brother is with me.”

_ah, yes. of course._

yukhei looked at the other boy with raised eyebrows, and from the way he mirrored the serpent's expression, it looked like jungwoo wasn’t informed beforehand.

“noona.” jungwoo protested, eyes sad and confused. yukhei’s hand twitched at the gentle voice. “i thought i was going to be with you?”

the serpent’s eyes bulged slightly when he saw irene’s cold expression fading into something soft and— _loving_. it was a sight yukhei never thought he’d ever witness in this lifetime. he almost physically startled in his seat, but managed to restrain himself. 

_what the fuck_. 

“we will still see each other frequently. seulgi and her girls are part of the family after all.” irene said gently, her words dripping with genuine affection. 

yukhei almost choked on his spit at what he was witnessing. the demon queen of sm holdings was a _doting sister_ —and the fact that she didn’t care that yukhei was in front of them meant that she’d rather let everyone else see her weakness than act coldly towards jungwoo.

it was weird. it was easy to forget irene was human too.

but it also made him anxious how important jungwoo is, and how he's expected to take care of him. 

"noona, i– i don’t know him.” jungwoo said softly, eyes darting to yukhei. “i—i’m sorry, lucas-ssi, we haven’t even formally met yet.”

yukhei smirked, suddenly charmed at the way the other addressed him. sitting up, he bowed gracefully towards jungwoo with a playful smile. “hello. my name is wong yukhei. it’s nice to meet you.”

jungwoo started to sit up as well but irene put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from bowing too formally. he shot an apologetic smile at irene and ducked his head once in a half-bow. “i’m jungwoo. nice to meet you.” then he frowned. “but… yukhei? why does my sister call you lucas?”

“lucas is my, ah, business name. i told her to call me yukhei since we’ve been acquainted for a long time, but she insists on calling me lucas. that’s why i call her irene as well.” he explained. from the way jungwoo’s eyebrows rose, he could tell her sister never told him how everyone else knows her as.

“i go by irene a lot.” irene explained to her brother. “nobody dares to call me by my real name unless they know me well. you’ll find that it’s common.”

jungwoo nodded, absorbing the knowledge. his eyes then drifted to ten, before he smiled. “and who might you be?”

ten looked a little surprised at the sudden attention but bowed smoothly from his seat. “i go by ten.”

“kim jungwoo.”

“see, we’re one step closer to knowing each other very well.” yukhei charmingly said, before shooting irene his businessman smile. irene looked unimpressed, as ever. “you don’t have to worry about him under our care.”

jungwoo bit his lip, and yukhei had the sudden urge to do it for him. “noona, you should have told me about your plans. i-i don’t know how you work here in seoul, but i would like to know about all things regarding my person.”

“of course.” irene said immediately, and yukhei’s jaw almost dropped. she said it so fast. “i’m sorry, i’m used to handling things by myself.”

yukhei thought he couldn’t be any more shocked but then jungwoo took his sister’s hand, and irene just let him.

the whole thing—from irene looking too soft, to _apologizing_ , then letting her brother hold her hand—made yukhei glance unprofessionally at both ten and seulgi in surprise. ten mirrored his expression but seulgi looked on, as if this wasn’t new.

then again, irene might be like this to seulgi as well—but never in front of any serpent.

saying that jungwoo was important to the ceo was a gross oversimplification. seulgi may be irene’s heart, but it seemed as if jungwoo was her soul, what makes her human.

yukhei already knew he was expected to take care of him with his life—which, he normally would never do. he wondered what irene would give up this time for the favor. if not speaking about jungwoo gave them a highly-coveted condo unit, what would she give up for his safety?

“noona,” jungwoo said finally, after brushing his fingers gently on her hand. “you do know that i’ll be okay with whatever you think is wise? i’m not unreasonable. i know you, and i know you get things done. i’m not telling you to change, i just need to know what will happen to me– especially if it’s your decision.”

irene nodded and sighed. “i understand. will… will you be okay then, to be with that man over there?”

‘that man over there’ was too fascinated with the exchange to feel the least bit insulted. jungwoo glanced at yukhei, tilting his head as he regarded the other. yukhei looked back unflinchingly, wondering what jungwoo sees.

a few seconds pass by. “he’s a good man.” jungwoo declared. 

yukhei almost choked on air. _a good man?_ yukhei is, quite literally, the leader of vicious snakes. he couldn't help his face as it changed into an undignified expression of dumbstruck. 

_is this an act? this has to be an act. what is irene pulling?_

he watched them with apprehension as irene’s eyebrow raised at this. seulgi was smiling too big, too soft; the sight of her smiling confirmed that jungwoo was being genuine. 

“you don't know him as well as i do.” irene told him, but jungwoo shook his head.

“i know he’s some kind of… mafia leader.” jungwoo told her. “and i know it seems stupid to call him a good man, because he may have done things that are otherwise unspeakable. but men like him have principles that they never break. loyalty, a sense of duty…” he turned to yukhei, a tiny, pretty smile on his face. “i see your eyes and i see a love for family. i see a responsibility to make sure they live a good life despite it all. or am i wrong?”

yukhei was suddenly taken aback by this, finding it unable to answer. jungwoo, like his sister, was unbelievably perceptive. but while irene can nitpick every way one thing can go wrong, jungwoo seemed to catch the details that made people more… human.

it’s disconcerting. 

hardly anything takes yukhei by surprise anymore; all men are, to some degree, cruel and greedy. knowing this earlier on helped him understand how people work and how to manipulate them. but this…

for the first time, yukhei was unsure on how to act, on what to say. after all, he never really pictured himself talking to an angel.

“we take care of what we have.” ten replied for him, before yukhei could embarrass himself any further with his silence. “it’s part of our code.”

“we have to have established principles, or else we’d be nothing but monsters.” seulgi informed jungwoo, agreeing.

yukhei tried to snap out of his silence, berating himself for getting caught off-guard just because of a simple question. it wasn’t even a hard one to answer; of course he loves his family. they’ve been there with him through thick and thin. but there was something in the way jungwoo said it, like he _knows_ the things that make him vulnerable.

however if irene used her perception for flaws and uses it against the person, yukhei has a feeling that jungwoo is the opposite. he knows jungwoo said those things because it was truly what he saw in yukhei. not ‘serpent’ or ‘killer’ or ‘monster’. just _yukhei_ , a human boy living a dangerous life to fight for the people he loved.

and it confused him.

he looked up to see irene already watching him with a sharp look, and the air around him felt grim. they both know that something’s up, and yukhei doesn’t want to address it. he doesn’t want to think about the implications. 

so he smoothly recovered with a smirk, letting out an amused noise. “everyone, this is a meeting, not a youtube tutorial.” he said, making seulgi roll her eyes. “you can teach him the ways later on, when he’s already living with us in the estate.”

irene’s eyes flashed. “do not teach him something that i would not like.”

yukhei grinned, unnerved. “my dear cousin will make sure of that. as for me, i won’t bother him as much. i’ll make sure my family knows what they’re supposed to do and how they’re supposed to do it.”

the ceo’s threatening gaze dulled back into an expressionless one. “good.”

“we’ll have a room ready for him, near the rooms of our beloved red velvet so you don’t have to worry.” ten said, speaking up. “he will be our top priority, for you are the one who requested this favor. we will give you the contact numbers of those who will keep him safe, and they will keep you up to date about how he is doing.”

irene merely gave a single nod to acknowledge his words, but yukhei can tell that she was pleased. “do you have any other requests, miss irene?” he drawled.

_what would you do for us in exchange?_

there was a flicker of understanding in the ceo’s eyes. “keep him safe, and we’ll see.” she said. yukhei raised his eyebrows at this. “i understand what you’re risking for my brother, and for that i am extremely grateful.”

the way irene said this, with such a lack of emotion, almost made yukhei laugh. he knew she’ll come up with an appropriate compensation for the serpent lives she’s putting at risk.

yukhei grinned his devil’s grin, leaned in and stuck his hand out. “we have a deal then.”

irene, despite her blatant irritation for yukhei’s existence, shook his hand firmly. “today, we'll rest but tomorrow we’ll help him move in at around five am.” irene informed him, adjusting her suit delicately. at this, jungwoo startled but said nothing.

“we’ll be expecting you.” yukhei told her, offering a smile.

giving him one last nod, irene stood up gracefully while her brother and her lover followed suit. “we’re done here.” she declared in that charming way of hers. “thank you for your time.”

yukhei stood as well, moving towards the door. “thank you for trusting us with such a priceless possession.” he said, as he opened the door and winked at jungwoo.

he expected the kim boy to be flustered. but jungwoo looked at him and genuinely smiled, taking him by surprise again. yukhei faltered by the door, his flirty grin wavering as he stared at the ceo’s brother.

he only managed to snap out of it when irene, for all her brilliant timings, grabbed her brother’s hand and led him towards the exit of the room. she said nothing as they both went past yukhei with seulgi following closely behind.

his cousin slowed down and faced yukhei with a look. “i just want to let you know that if one day joohyun attacks you because you were being a dick, i won’t stop her.” seulgi murmured to her cousin. “she was already so stressed about asking you to take care of her brother, and you were being…you.”

yukhei rolled his eyes, stepping out of the private room with ten. “i’m sorry i can’t tell when she’s on edge or not. she has had the same facial expression on her since the dawn of time.”

seulgi walked with them as they went towards the direction of the driveway. “but you should have known. she was with jungwoo.”

the serpent met her eyes with his now serious ones. “i didn’t even know that he meant that much to her.”

seulgi shrugged, before walking towards where irene was waiting patiently with jungwoo. once she got there, irene grabbed her hand and kissed it. yukhei smirked in amusement; irene must be too tired to care about others seeing her affection towards seulgi. 

yukhei then turned to watch jungwoo, who looked back at him with an indecipherable expression on his face. the way he looked at yukhei unnerved the serpent; yukhei can only think about how jungwoo figured out why he does what he does, barely an hour after they just met.

if he was going to spend an indefinite amount of time with irene’s brother, how many other things will he find out?

not liking the thought too much, yukhei pressed his lips into a thin line and stalked off towards their car.

**jungwoo**

meeting wong yukhei was… an experience.

jungwoo expected the leader of the white serpents to be much much older. he knew it was going to be seulgi’s cousin, but he imagined a cousin who was in his early 30’s. someone who probably had a wife and some kids.

not someone around his age.

his stomach dropped when he saw yukhei walk inside the room. he thought that the other boy had walked into the wrong room, but when yukhei’s eyes landed on irene and walked right in, he knew that he must be the person to talk to regarding the white serpents.

_okay_ , he thought. _this must be another ambassador of sorts. or the leader’s right-hand man._

but then, as he and joohyun exchanged words, jungwoo realized that yukhei _was_ the leader. a boy around jungwoo’s age is the head of a mafia. he could be around twenty one or twenty three, yet he’s out here doing business in drugs and other illegal shit.

yukhei should have been in _college_ , like jungwoo was.

when yukhei’s eyes landed on him, jungwoo knew he was dangerous. there was a pretty smile on the serpent’s face, but his eyes hinted at an experience that jungwoo cannot imagine. he could tell, because it was the same experienced gaze he sees when he looks at his sister. 

maybe jungwoo shouldn’t have observed yukhei out loud. jungwoo saw the shock in yukhei’s eyes when he assessed him, as if he got every point precisely and now he’s a possible threat in the serpent’s eyes. jungwoo found it easy to read people; it was a skill his sister honed in him in all her years visiting the philippines, telling him that it will save him from having his heart broken by the world’s cruelty.

reading people was second nature, so he thought nothing of it. but his words must have hit something sensitive in yukhei, something no one truly ever vocalized. that tends to happen a lot, especially with the people he knows.

it won’t stop him from doing it, though. sometimes, people need a reminder why they do what they’re doing. they need to think about who they’re doing it for.

he was silent as yukhei looked at him with an expression he could not read. he was silent still as he watched yukhei get into the car with ten following closely, and continued his silence as they went back to their own car.

“are you angry with me?”

jungwoo startled at the question, turning to look at joohyun. she looked so worried that he quickly said, “no! why would you think that?”

“you’re not talking.”

“no, it’s just… there’s a lot going on today. and i was surprised about many things, but i knew you made those decisions because you knew what was best for me.” jungwoo explained, taking his sister’s hand. “but you have to know that you can’t keep hiding things from me. i took it well today, but i might get upset the next time.”

joohyun frowned, as if scolding herself for doing such a thing. it endeared jungwoo to see her caring so much about what he had to say, but acting so cold in front of everyone else who’s not family or seulgi. “i understand. i won’t ever do that to you again.”

jungwoo smiled at her reassuringly. “noona. you have to understand that i love you right? and that you shouldn’t feel pressured to be a good sister when you already are.”

joohyun looked up at him, vulnerable. “what do you mean?”

“i know you feel guilty for deciding that i should spend my years in the philippines.” jungwoo said carefully, squeezing her hand. “i feel your guilt every moment that we’re together. but you should know it’s not your fault, and that i would not love you any less if you did something wrong.”

there was silence in the car. seulgi pressed a kiss on joohyun’s hair. “he’s right, you know. i’ve been telling you this for a long time.” she murmured, sharing a smile with jungwoo.

joohyun said nothing to this. jungwoo can read this, too—he knows joohyun was so used to becoming the emotionless, scary businesswoman that she didn’t think she’s worthy to be loved. he always would notice the relief in her eyes when he smiles, or when seulgi holds her hand.

his sister may not ask for it, but she’s in constant need of validation from her loved ones. this is why jungwoo initiates a lot of physical affection from her, even if she didn’t ask. he knows she’s afraid to ask.

“okay.” joohyun murmured. she laid her head on seulgi’s shoulder and squeezed jungwoo’s hand, her stiff posture gone. “okay.”

\--

by the time the car rolled up into the driveway of the kim-bae estate with the sun rising serenely, jungwoo’s nerves were jumping all over the place. he should be tired after the long sleepless evening, but he felt too anxious. 

the estate had been his home for the first ten years of his life. even if he was gone for a decade, the structure was still all too familiar and the sight of it hit him with a strong wave of nostalgia.

he was surprised how much he missed this. well, some memories associated with it. 

“welcome home, woo.” joohyun smiled at him, before the car door opened and they stepped outside. there was no long line of staff waiting for them, as per joohyun’s request; jungwoo knew she thought of it as unnecessary and inefficient. there were only three people plus the driver who took care of all their luggage. jungwoo, who did not have this kind of lifestyle in a long time, wanted to help.

“so,” joohyun started to say, breaking him from his stare and gently leading him inside the large house with an arm looped through his, “we have your old room ready. everything’s still there. and we usually eat breakfast at around eight but if you’re hungry before then, you can ask the kitchen to make something for you.”

_ah, to be taken care of again_. it felt slightly uncomfortable for jungwoo. his parents didn’t give him anything but an apartment and enough money for him to survive the ten years he spent in the philippines. 

jungwoo wondered if he would be allowed to cook in the mafia estate. he hoped so. it’s not like he could, because he actually can’t cook for shit, but it would give him a sense of normalcy. it would bring him peace to ruin a pan or two, like he usually did back in the philippines. 

it was rough to be alone, but he met haechan and jeno around five years later. their parents had their own business in the philippines, and they generally left them alone as well. so they lived an independent life, dragging him along every antic. college life with them was a wild ride.

he was suddenly hit with a pang of longing. the first thing he'll do when he finally settles in is hit his best friends up. 

joohyun led his brother to his old room, and the boy couldn’t help but think that while this is all nice and familiar, it isn’t his life anymore. the lush carpet, the large antiques, the cream colored wallpaper… everything was a bit much. it always has been.

by the time they reached the door, joohyun loosened her grip on her brother. “i’ll be in the office, if you need me. mom and dad are at a business trip in japan, but they’ll be here three days from now.”

jungwoo startled. he almost forgot about their parents. “do they know?”

irene nodded, wincing slightly. “they’re… worried.”

he almost laughed at this. their parents were usually absent—to him, at least. they might care for him but if they do they hardly show it. that’s why he’s extremely close to joohyun; she took the initiative to become his parental figure. “are they, really?” he found himself asking.

joohyun shared a look with him, one that showed she understood where this is coming from. “of course. they’re our parents, after all.”

seulgi, who was watching the whole exchange, walked up to them. “joohyun?”

“right. let’s go.” joohyun said, before walking towards the end of the hallway. “woo, there’s a phone for you on your desk and our numbers are there. call us if you need us. we’ll be in the office.”

“okay!”

jungwoo watched as the two disappeared, leaving him alone with a house he doesn’t quite remember. it was the same, sure, and of course he missed it, but there was something to it that made it so unfamiliar.

jungwoo still knew where his room was. he knew where to find the garden, the kitchen, the dining hall. but it felt so cold, so empty, and he wondered if it was just really him and his sister that brought warmth to it when they were younger.

he eyed a bunch of unfamiliar staff a while ago looking at him with a mix of curiosity and worry, as if the long lost kim-bae child couldn’t find his room without his sister’s guidance. it felt—uncomfortable, to be known as some secret that’s finally uncovered.

when he entered his old room, he noticed the changes immediately. the sheets were of plain color—a dull red, the color of sm holdings, compared to his baby blue sheets from childhood. his photo frames were still there but they were rearranged into something less cluttered. his desk was a handsome mahogany, not the navy colored student desk he requested to have made, with a nice matching swivel chair.

the colors of the door and the walls were still the same, as well as the lighting fixtures that didn’t seem to change throughout the years, but everything was still too clean and arranged. his room looked like something out of a condo unit showcase. he didn’t like it at all.

he jumped into his bed and rolled around in attempt to make the room less cold. it did little to satisfy him, but he realized he wasn't going to stay for long anyways. 

grabbing the weird touchscreen flip-phone hybrid (android, sure, that's fine) from the desk, he downloaded telegram and kakaotalk before logging in and adding his friends' contacts.

**_jungwoo_ **

**_4:00AM_ **

_hey guys. just met the person i'll be staying with. everything's the same here in seoul, but it feels kind of weird being here now. miss you both ♥️_

**_jeno_ **

**_4:01AM_ **

_hey!!!! glad u got there okay._

**_haechan_ **

**_4:01AM_ **

_wdym 'the person ull be staying with'? ure not staying with ur sister?_

**_jungwoo_ **

**_4:02AM_ **

_nah, apparently not. no one knows i'm here, and we're supposed to keep it that way._

**_jeno_ **

**_4:04AM_ **

_awww shit_

_wait, should you be texting us?_

_like, these people might be tapping your phone_

**_jungwoo_ **

**_4:05AM_ **

_nah, idt so_

_my sister got me this, so it's definitely safe_

_also, ik how meticulous she is so i bet the whole estate is super tight in security_

_not so sure about video calls tho, that's why im messaging yall_

**_haechan_ **

**_4:08AM_ **

_don't worry about it. as long as ure safe_

**_jeno_ **

**_4:08AM_ **

_yeah_

_but dont think that we will let you off_

_tell us what happened_

  
  


jungwoo sighed out loud, and started to type, best that he could with his two thumbs, the events that happened to him for the past twelve hours. from getting into a private jet (he had looked at joohyun so disappointedly when he told her about their carbon footprint, and his sister vowed to sell off their other two in an attempt to pacify her brother) to meeting wong yukhei of the white serpents.

that… that was an experience he couldn't do well to retell no matter how hard he tried. he's not sure how to put into words the way yukhei looked at him, smiling but untrusting. and something else, but he's not sure what. 

**_jeno_ **

**_5:30 AM_ **

_wtf man_

_that's fucking wild_

_haechan told me to tell you his phone died on him_

_dumb ass_

**_jungwoo_ **

**_5:31AM_ **

_haha dont be mean_

_but yeah, that's what happened to me_

**_jeno_ **

**_5:31 AM_ **

_fucking wild_

**_jungwoo_ **

**_5:32AM_ **

_dude i srsly thought this junior year would go as normal as last year_

_was going to audition to that musical org even_

_it was going to be MY year, yk?_

_i ended up being a college dropout haha_

**_jeno_ **

**_5:33AM_ **

_a financially stable dropout_

_haechan told me he's going to sleep_

_he said he loves you but he's been awake ever since u left_

_and we have class_

_so_

**_jungwoo_ **

**_5:33AM_ **

_wtf im sorry_

_why tf did u let me rant this couldve waited_

_get some sleep_

_ty for listening to me rant_

_dont u have 7am aerobics?_

**_jeno_ **

**_5:35AM_ **

_rIGHT_

_welp im cutting i guess_

_it's not the same without u_

**_jungwoo_ **

**_5:35AM_ **

_aww_

_*go to sleep na_

_**may school pa kayo_

**_jungwoo_ **

**_5:36AM_ **

_HE'S SPEAKING TAGALOG_

_**sige sige miss u_

_stay safe_

with that, jungwoo shut his phone off and stared at the ceiling. he'll be in an alien place tomorrow, not that seoul is familiar to him anymore. 

he laughed dryly. what's another strange place when his own house feels strange enough to him already?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *adding 'na' makes it soft; it means now
> 
> **you both still have school
> 
> ***okay okay miss u


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: I UPDATED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WITH JUNGWOO'S POV SO CHECK IT OUT BEFORE READING THIS
> 
> worked on the first part of this chapter two months ago and ended up finishing the rest of it today wtf i thought it would take me a week. ur comments and kudos really hyped me up, so thank you for supporting this guys omg 
> 
> hope you enjoy!!

**lucas**

“the kim-bae boy? living here with us starting tomorrow?” johnny asked, eyes wide.

yukhei’s inner circle looked at him with the same kind of wonder on their faces, save ten who was with him during the exchange. “yes.” yukhei then turned to taeyong, who was flicking a knife between his fingers beside ten. “hyung, i’m going to need your best men with him at all times. red velvet will be working with irene, so it’s up to us to take care of him.”

“noted.”

“will also need to teach him how everyone works inside the house, just so we will be able to avoid problems.” yukhei informed them, turning to taeil with a raised eyebrow. taeil nodded in acknowledgement.

“will he need a room?”

“already taken care of. his will be right beside seulgi’s.”

“but won't red velvet be with irene the whole time? we need someone next to him who’s constantly there.” taeyong offered.

yukhei frowned. “they’ll be coming back frequently to check up on him, but you’re right. we’ll bring this up with irene and see if she’s okay putting her brother next to ten’s room.”

ten nodded. “alright, will contact her later.” 

“so he met red velvet, already.” doyoung said. yukhei nodded.

“yes, and while they usually take care of jobs like this, it's up to us now to make sure he's safe. not a single scar on his body. he is extremely important to sm holdings, more importantly to irene.” yukhei reminded them. “we’re still not sure if everyone else knows where he is, so we’ll have to keep him in the estate unless it's an emergency.”

“wait, but how did irene trust us with their prized possession?” jaehyun asked tensely, looking at ten and yukhei with a rare type of seriousness. “isn’t it better that they keep him in their home? their house is more secure than the pentagon.”

“ _our_ estate is more secure than theirs.” yukhei told them. “and they're trying to keep his presence a secret.”

“it’s that bad, huh? what exactly happened to them?”

“someone from their corporation tried to have them killed in manila. that’s why red velvet will be busy for the next couple of weeks, and that’s why we’re tasked to take care of him.” 

“so they’ve been keeping him in the philippines this whole time.” taeil muttered softly. “should we know anything else?”

yukhei fell silent, not sure what he’s supposed to tell them. that jungwoo was not who he expected him to be? that he didn’t belong to this life? that he’s confused why the boy was not brought into this world until now?

he’s not sure how to word it properly, so he settles for “he’s… different.”

the inner circle looked at him blankly, except ten. the silence stretched into five painful seconds before ten made a scoffing noise. “kim jungwoo is not like us, nor is he like his sister.” ten explained, before turning to their leader. “xuxi, i understand that he’s difficult to describe but saying that he’s ‘different’ isn’t exactly helping.”

this made doyoung sit up. “what do you mean?”

“he seemed to have had a normal upbringing in the philippines.” ten explained further. “he’s not like irene. at all. he’s completely clueless about… all this. seulgi even told us he studied political science before he got here, so he has no background in business.”

johnny sighed. “oh my god, we’re living with a fucking _normie_.”

“hyung.” yukhei scolded, effectively silencing the other. “he’s still irene’s brother. and he might have a different upbringing, but there might be more to him than what we know. so we should approach this carefully.”

yukhei could see that everyone was even more confused and curious now, with what he and ten provided so far. it was a big deal for the rest of them; yukhei told everyone to forget about kim jungwoo all those years ago and now he’s asking them to take care of him.

“damn, i kind of wish we still had that file.” jaehyun muttered. yukhei almost agreed with him.

“well, we shouldn’t worry about that. we just have to do our best to take care of him, just as irene said.” taeil spoke up, earning a nod from yukhei. as always, the eldest puts the rest of the inner circle in perspective. “but be careful. he could be extremely dangerous.”

at this, everyone turned to look at him.

taeil crossed his arms calmly, his eyes meeting everyone’s. “it’s all too weird to me. irene told us to burn the file we had on him which was already off putting. plus with him being all too important to her, it's impossible that he doesn't know things.”

ten frowned. “i get what you mean. we really should keep our guard up. but... hmm. i don't want to seem naive or stupid. just see for yourselves tomorrow; he really isn't much."

“we should still be careful around him, no matter how innocent he seems.” yukhei said, agreeing with the eldest. “kim jungwoo is too nice; it’s pretty unnerving.”

when yukhei’s gaze finds ten, he was surprised to see his second hand man smirking. “what?”

“he is pretty _and_ nice, that’s why it’s unnerving.” ten said. “xuxi, i’m a good judge of character and trust me when i say we have nothing to worry about. you, however, might be in trouble.”

there was a collective sound of amusement coming from all corners of the room, even from the quiet taeyong, which made yukhei’s temper rise. “what the fuck does that even mean?”

before ten could reply, jaehyun was already leaning forward with interest. “so he’s pretty, then?” jaehyun asked, licking his lips. this earned him a slap from johnny. “ow!”

“you looked so creepy just now.” johnny shuddered.

“honestly, i expected nothing less from irene’s bloodline. i mean, have you seen their parents? they look like they’re barely thirty. i swear, they might be vampires—like cullens, or some shit.” doyoung also commented, walking over to sit at the armchair of the couch johnny and jaehyun was sitting on.

“oh my god, doyoung’s a twihard.”

a sharp slap resounded across the room. “ya!”

as the others started to bicker, yukhei’s mind went to irene and jungwoo's parents– the foundation of the kim-bae empire. while they exude power and commanded enough respect, they weren't as intense as their daughter. before their retirement, the couple dealt with the serpents in a detached manner. they weren't as involved with the mafia, hardly striking deals or asking for favors.

irene, for all the fear she strikes upon everyone, was a good change. the serpents had more workload, but they also had more assets. seulgi seemed happy dating her too. 

jungwoo, however… well, he was extremely different from the other three members of the family. while their parents breathed in corporate and irene lived a gangster life, jungwoo was just… surprisingly mundane. the only thing that keeps yukhei from doubting jungwoo's blood relation to the kim-baes is his sharp perception. 

they all had a similar air of acute perceptiveness. the kim-baes have this look in their eyes that was unnerving, and they seemed to pierce right through every person they meet. it was close to magic how they can deduce a whole situation from a single look. yukhei wonders if this was an inherent talent or a skill they were trained to use since childhood.

his mind went back to his first meeting with jungwoo. the boy seemed to have heard of yukhei just then, which means irene and their parents never told him the true nature of how their corporation works. he seemed so new to it all, so pure, but he also didn’t look awkward and extremely out of place.

kim jungwoo accepted his role in the whole ordeal with a grace yukhei can respect. coming from a fairly normal upbringing, it must have been hard to be told that his life wasn’t as simple after all.

but still… the way he seemed to go along with it seemed too easy. for a person with such a normal upbringing, yukhei saw no fear in jungwoo's eyes. it worried him. 

“if he’s as pretty as ten claims, does that mean i can date him?” jaehyun asked out loud, snapping yukhei out of his thoughts.

“jaehyun, shut the fuck up.”

“no one touches the kid.” taeil scolded loudly. oddly enough, yukhei felt like this was directed to him.

“no promises, hyung.” jaehyun replied cheekily.

“hyung is right. we’re supposed to take care of him.” yukhei agreed, earning a knowing look from jaehyun. “we don’t want to risk getting irene mad.” he added, just to wipe the look off of jaehyun’s face.

this worked well. a shudder rippled through the people in the room, effectively shutting everyone up. the mention of irene's wrath seemed to make everyone much more nervous. 

yukhei turned to look at taeyong. “hyung, i’m going to need you to be with jungwoo as much as you can. we have no room for fuckups.” yukhei asked. despite his past and his lithe figure, taeyong was their best fighter. “god knows what will happen to us if we ruin even a strand of his hair.” 

taeyong met his gaze. “of course.”

“barely a year into the relationship, he’s already replacing me with the new guy.” ten sighed overdramatically beside him. just like that, the pressure over jungwoo's arrival was replaced with a collective annoyance over ten. 

"shut up." two or three other people in the room chorused. 

yukhei resisted the urge to roll his eyes when taeyong gave ten an exasperated but fond look, which resulted to ten pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's lips. 

"don't worry," taeyong said. "you still get this ass every nigh–"

“oh, _god_ no.”

“ew, you guys.”

“here? you're really doing this here?" 

"alright!" yukhei shouted a little too loud, very much traumatized. "i guess this wraps up our meeting! you can all go now, especially you two." he said, gesturing to the couple distastefully. 

ten smirked. before he can open his mouth, yukhei was already speaking. "this is why we need an hr department. i don't give a fuck if we're not supposed to, or if it's weird for us to have one– but i think we need it." 

"facts." 

"shut the fuck up, johnny." 

"you're dismissed." yukhei said with finality, looking at them sternly. his inner circle scrambled to leave except for taeyong, who was hanging back with ten.

yukhei sighed. "i hope you're not continuing the gross conversation you had in front of everybody here in my office?"

taeyong smirked, flicking his knife to fold it before it neatly disappeared from his hands like a magic trick. "as much as i'd love to see your face when we do that, i have another concern." 

ten calmly wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's waist, shooting him a raised eyebrow. 

"when i was still working… there," taeyong started to say, wincing slightly before pausing. ten stiffened beside him, his eyes a bit murderous as he pulled his boyfriend closer. 

yukhei frowned. "hyung. you don't have to–"

"no, it's regarding jungwoo." taeyong interrupted. "my client used to tell me that the jiàns almost went for jungwoo instead of bae suzy's family."

yukhei and ten looked at each other. "what?" 

"they didn't go with it because they were saving it for another time, for when irene makes them mad. they knew it would be a fatal blow to both of us."

ten exhaled. "it's a good thing they sent him to the philippines."

yukhei nodded, worried now. "what else?"

"they said that their plan to murder bae suzy and her family was a milder warning, that they wanted the kim-baes to know what they can do for affiliating themselves with us. i'm not so sure now, but they had tabs on him and they were ready to attack at any moment. they knew where he went, what his schedule was like."

yukhei frowned. "but isn't irene extremely protective of him? how could this happen?"

irene wouldn't have been so careless that the jians could monitor her brother so easily. taeyong just shrugged. "they did find it peculiar that he didn't have security with him. maybe, despite what they're telling us, jungwoo has some sort of background?"

yukhei considered this, his gaze finding ten's. "do you think…?"

"he doesn't move like one of us. and i could tell from seulgi that he was being genuine." ten said, making yukhei nod.

"but we still have to tread lightly with him. i'm not sure what irene is trying to pull, or what their plan is."

"i personally don't think she's trying to pull anything." ten said firmly, catching the other two's attention. "from what i saw, he was trying to hide his– well, he was trying not to let his fear and panic show. it may seem suspicious but… this i know for sure."

a look passed between ten and taeyong, something private and painful. yukhei had an inkling about what it was, but he made no comment. 

"what about him not having security when he lived here?" yukhei asked. "isn't that suspicious? irene is probably the most paranoid person i know when it comes to these things. how did he not have anyone with him?"

"i already talked to the other red velvet girls about jungwoo." ten said, because of course he did. "jungwoo insisted on living a normal life before he left seoul. one of the bizarre things he asked from his sister was for him to live in another apartment far from their estate all alone– and knowing how irene is with her brother, she couldn't say no and agreed."

"at the age of ten?" 

"yeah. he lived alone for a couple of months in a secure apartment near his school. joy did mention that they found out someone was tailing jungwoo, but they always had men lurking around to make sure he stayed safe. it was when the bae family murder happened that they moved him to the philippines."

yukhei raised his eyebrows in shock. his suspicion was dissipating now, but he still wanted to hold on to it just to be safe. "alright. but ten, we really need to be extra careful. i see no reason for irene to go against us but you never know."

ten huffed and rolled his eyes. "of course. you know i would do anything to keep our family safe. and i know you're wondering why i'm so chill about the whole thing– i'm not being naive. i just think that doubting irene despite our history with her is pretty stupid."

yukhei opened his mouth in order to deny this, but ten was already stretching and walking out the door. "if that's all… we have the myeongdong drug supply to check out."

taeyong sighed and followed his boyfriend out of the room. "don't worry about jungwoo." taeyong said as he walked out. "we'll take care of him."

_don't worry_ . of course, yukhei will worry. they're taking care of an important person, one who most of the underworld wanted to get their hands on. everyone would want to get a hold of irene's weakness, the kim-bae's most beloved secret, and they _have_ him. will have him. under their roof. 

he sighed as he went to close the door to his office. being the boss is fun until he gets jobs like this, something that drew targets on their backs. 

it's his first time to keep someone, who's not family, safe from the rest of the underworld. sure, they know how to protect people but not someone who's as sought after as kim jungwoo.

and it's hard, because he doesn't know the person. when he protects one of his own, he knows that they will follow his orders no matter what. it should have been easy, if jungwoo wasn't so mysterious and so _normal_. he doesn't know how jungwoo will react to this environment.

and, ultimately, that's what he's worried about. not just… keeping jungwoo safe, but the idea of keeping him here. something's about to change them all, he knows this. he just doesn't know what. 

but he knows it will be because of jungwoo. 

**jungwoo**

"hello."

jungwoo woke up with a start at the quiet voice. he slept the whole way from his house to the mafia family estate, because he hardly got any sleep from last night. he wasn't supposed to be napping, but he was _so tired_ –

"jungwoo-ssi?"

jungwoo snapped out of it and turned to the person holding the car door open with a smile. "hi, sorry. wasn't able to get some sleep."

the other boy was watching him, as if waiting for something. jungwoo cocked his head to the side, before realizing he should be getting out. "oh, right." he murmured before climbing out of the car.

"welcome to our family estate." the boy told him. he wasn't smiling but there was something warm about him that jungwoo found comfortable. he looked around his age or younger.

"sorry– we haven't properly met. i'm kim jungwoo." jungwoo said, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he stuck his hand out. then, realizing he was in south korea, proceeded to bow awkwardly.

there was amusement dancing in the other boy's eyes now. "lee taeyong." he said smoothly, accepting jungwoo's hand out of courtesy. "ten and yukhei are in a meeting, but they will be checking up on you later. i was assigned to make sure you're safe at all times."

days ago, he would have doubted this. the other looked incapable of throwing another man to the ground, but jungwoo caught up quickly that the mafia weren't necessarily all buff and burly. if yukhei assigned taeyong to him, then he must be dangerous as well. 

jungwoo winced. "are you okay with that?" 

taeyong looked surprised. "what?"

"are you okay with sticking with little old me at all times, for until god knows how long?" jungwoo asked. 

the other laughed stiltedly, looking as if it was surprised out of him. "it's my job."

"still must suck." jungwoo said sympathetically, very much comfortable with the other already. he's friendly like that; he gets along with anyone immediately. "you must be used to dangerous jobs. now you'll be forced to watch a grown twenty year old man kill creepers in minecraft for hours on end." 

another laugh was surprised out of taeyong, and jungwoo watched with amusement as the other tried to stifle it into something more professional. "i– uh. i think we can find something for you to do."

"i hope so." jungwoo said earnestly. "i dropped out of college for this scary corporate-mafia shit, i might as well _learn_ something." 

taeyong had a little smirk on his face now, and jungwoo felt like he passed some kind of test. "we'll get to that. but i'll have to show you your room first." 

the estate was surprisingly lovely, like something out of a victorian era. jungwoo half-expected it to look like gotham with the constant darkness and the muted colors. everything was bright and sunny and _pretty_. 

it was similar to theirs, but while the kim-bae's had old korean architecture, jungwoo felt like he stepped into europe with the white serpent estate. there were roses everywhere, and vines crawling through the walls of a very large mansion. there were marble statues and fountains, as well as french windows.

at least, he thinks their french windows. he's not sure. he's from the political science department, not architecture. 

"your home is very lovely." jungwoo murmured as they entered the mansion– after removing their shoes and slipped into a fluffy pair of slippers. it was one of the few reminders that he was very much in seoul. "very… romeo and juliet." 

taeyong's mouth twitched. "were you expecting something else?"

they entered the foyer, and jungwoo took it all in. everything looked so expensive but not so flashy. the furniture was fairly simple, but there were bits and pieces– such as the chandelier or the portraits– that made it look over a billion dollars. 

jungwoo half-expected them to have something more subdued so as not to attract attention. but their home looked like it was featured in some architectural magazine for british royalty.

"yeah, something like the one from parasite except larger." jungwoo answered truthfully. he was going to jokingly ask if they were hiring an english tutor, but stopped himself when he realized he was actually rich and this is a whole other fucked up reality. 

taeyong hummed, oblivious to the other's internal struggle. "we house a large amount of people, some of them not affiliated with any of our businesses, so we try to make it look as homely as possible."

well, they did achieve that. while everything looked expensive, it seemed lovingly taken care of. unlike the cold air of the kim-bae estate, theirs had a smell of cookies baking and freshly cut flowers. 

he sighed in relief. despite it all, he was thankful that he was living in a _home._

jungwoo's things were already in the room by the time they got there. he froze when he saw how big it was, much bigger than the one he had from his own house. "woah, what the fuck." 

"this will be your room," taeyong said, politely ignoring his remark although his eyes were lit up with mirth. "yours will be next to ten's, and it's near the foyer so i hope we won't have problems about you getting lost." 

_you have no excuse to wander off to places you shouldn't be_. jungwoo understood perfectly.

"you don't have to worry, i'm not that type of person." jungwoo said bluntly, although his tone was kind. taeyong looked startled, but jungwoo chose to ignore this and walked towards his bed. 

"uh…"

"so… i'm guessing indefinite house arrest?" jungwoo continued, watching how taeyong's shoulders stiffened as if to give him terrible news. taeyong blinked at him, looking a bit lost. "i was told i had the social life of a hermit, because i usually stay in to read sad books or watch studio ghibli movies online so house arrest isn't much punishment." he shared.

"that's… nice." 

"oh, right! joohyun-noona– sorry, i mean _irene_ , uh, noona– said i shouldn't be learning anything she doesn't like so i'm guessing i'm not allowed near some parts of the estate as well. which ones?" 

taeyong stared at him for a while, before shaking himself out of his stupor. "garden, gym, and swimming pool."

it was jungwoo's turn to gape. "why am i not allowed to go near the swimming pool?"

"we were informed of a drowning incident from when you were eight years old–"

"oh my _god_ , i was fucking eight!" jungwoo whined, hiding his face with both hands. "okay, fine, whatever. it's not like i know how to swim anyways, i wouldn't know what to do with a pool except bounce aimlessly at the five foot part of the pool. but what about the garden?" 

there was a pause. then, "oh is that where you grow the hemp?"

taeyong looked absolutely torn between laughing and sighing in exasperation. "we don't grow hemp in the gardens. it's just a little more exposed; our visitors might catch a glimpse of you. but ten said it's fine, as long as you inform someone you'll be walking around." 

"okay, okay. what about the gym?" 

"we train our new recruits there. weaponry included." taeyong told him matter-of-factly. 

"what if i wanted to train as well?" 

"you'll have to bring it up to your sister." 

jungwoo sighed, sitting down at the edge of his new bed. "i'm starting to feel less like an adult and more like the ten year old noona seems to still think of me as." he muttered, rolling his eyes. "do you guys have anything for me to do while i'm here?"

"irene told us about your education. we have professors in this family, and we can hire private tutors so you can continue your education." taeyong told him. jungwoo perked up at this. 

"for political science?"

"yes. we can arrange something for you."

jungwoo, admittedly, was a bit talkative today. he talks when he's nervous, and he felt like he flustered taeyong enough with his character so he decided to tone it down a bit. 

"is there anything else i have to know?" he asked, tone slightly dismissive. 

"i can show you around the estate, but taeil hyung will be here later to tell you the dynamic among our people– what the family does, how our day goes, all those things." taeyong said, noticeably more relaxed than he was a while ago. 

"i actually kind of want to catch up on my sleep if that's fine." jungwoo said. 

"of course."

"you're not going to… guard the door are you?" jungwoo asked nervously. taeyong narrowed his eyes. "not that i'm going anywhere! it's just– i'd feel uncomfortable. i don't want you hovering by the door waiting for me to do something stupid."

taeyong's gaze softened. "ah, i don't have to. but you'll need me to escort you once you leave your room."

"sure. can i get your number then? so i can text you." jungwoo asked. 

the other boy looked a bit uncomfortable. "just knock on ten's door, the one on the right, if you need me."

_ten's door?_ jungwoo wondered about this but didn't ask. "okay."

taeyong turned to leave. "wait!"

the serpent looked at him. 

"what's the wifi password?"

–

jungwoo should have been worried or nervous or _scared_ , but there were two things he couldn't stop thinking about. 

first, the wifi password is 'parseltongue'. that means either yukhei was a harry potter fan, or one other serpent– the one in charge of setting up the wifi– was. 

and it's fucking brilliant.

second, he surprisingly feels much better here than he was at his own house and that's saying something. of course, it's probably because he wasn't exposed to the sketchy stuff the white serpents do within the household yet but he's not really worried about that. 

the fact that his own house was much colder than the white serpent estate is speaking volumes. the people here have made it a home, and he can't wait to meet them. 

he wondered if there's a music room or an art room here. it seemed like the type to have those; and he had a feeling yukhei accommodated to the needs of his family like that. 

one thing's for sure, there's a library. and in it, there are _harry potter books_.

he's not quite sure about the last part, but it would be so cool. he wonders if there's the twilight series as well in there as well, although it's hard to think of a library from a victorian mansion containing terribly written young adult novels. 

feeling the need to share to someone, _anyone_ , he opens his weird flip phone touchscreen hybrid and called his friends immediately.

jeno was the only one who picked up. "are you guys busy?" jungwoo asked, lying face down on his new bed. 

"you didn't think to ask this before calling us?" jeno scolded, although he sounded a bit thrilled that jungwoo called. "also, are you allowed to make calls?" 

"seulgi noona told me something about the mafia estate being more secure than the pentagon." jungwoo told him. "and i missed you guys, so." a pause. "where's haechan?"

"in class, but i'm free right now." jeno said, and there was the sound of scuffling from his line. the familiar sound of the school bell was playing in the background, and jungwoo was hit with a wave of nostalgia. "sorry– the wifi is pretty bad. just tell me if my voice gets choppy." 

"it's fine." 

"so tell me! how's it going there? are the people scary?"

"surprisingly no, but i've met just one person so far. their home is lovely, it looks like i went to france instead of seoul." jungwoo told him. "it's… much better than our house." 

jeno was silent for a moment. his best friends know about jungwoo's parents– in fact, they met both twice, and both times they were uncomfortable. his parents really were… strict asian parents, in every aspect. "i'm sorry."

"why are you apologizing? it's fine, but i do miss my sister. and i'm also not sure how i'll be spending my time in this new place."

"you can help us with homework at night, since you don't have school anymore you lucky bastard." jeno said good-naturedly. both he and haechan were in pre-med courses, jeno in bs psychology and haechan in biology. 

"i'm a polsci student, i can't help you with your nerdy science shit."

"bitch, our nerdy science shit got you through your freshman biology course."

jungwoo laughed. he heard someone speak to jeno, and jeno seemed to pull away from his phone as he answered back in rapid tagalog.

"sorry. where were we? right, our nerdy science shit which, by the way, saved your sorry ass."

"i apologize for being academically tragic, but at least i'm not a nerd."

"this is coming from a guy who hardly goes out–"

"alright, alright fine. we're a bunch of sad grown men with no social lives." jungwoo said solemnly.

"that's just you, punk." jeno laughed, then it faded a bit. "seriously, are you doing alright?" he asked softly, voice laced with a rare seriousness. jeno was a little shit who always smiled and laughed with his whole being, but when he was serious it was always worth paying attention to. with him being serious now, jungwoo can't help but feel a bit sad that he's not there anymore.

jungwoo relished the concern in jeno's voice and his heart warmed. "i wouldn't be calling you if i'm dead in a ditch somewhere."

"hey, don't… don't talk like that." jeno sighed. "we're really worried about you, you know. i don't understand what's happening, but we just want you to be safe."

jungwoo smiled sadly. "i know."

"you'll have to message us a bunch of random shit every day for our peace of mind, alright?" jeno said jokingly, although he seemed serious. 

"of course." jungwoo said as he yawned.

"you haven't slept yet, have you?" jeno asked, making a tutting sound. "go to fucking sleep, asshole."

"okay mom."

"who you calling mom–!"

the call ended abruptly, making jungwoo chuckle. their school wifi was bad, so he knew jeno didn't intend to end it but he didn't make a move to call him again. 

feeling physically drained, jungwoo settled into his bed and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bc of the covid lockdown and class suspension here in the ph, i have time to do some writing. dont expect much tho, bc i just wrote down some scenes for the later chapters and im currently studying for a online long exam in japanese hahu wish me luck.
> 
> everyone, pls stay safe! try to eat healthy, wash ur hands, avoid social contact and dont hoard supplies.

**jungwoo**

it was in the middle of the afternoon, during his long nap, when jungwoo suddenly had this mild nagging from the back of his head telling him he was being watched by a malevolent spirit.

slowly rousing from his sleep, he cracked his eyes open carefully and found a stern man staring down at him in mild distaste. 

"fuck!" he garbled out, head hitting the back of the bed as he scrambled to sit up. this was the second time in less than twelve hours that he woke up to a serpent looking at him and he's already so fucking tired of it. 

"i'm sorry, who…?"

"i'm taeil." the guy said flatly, very much unimpressed at the sight of jungwoo. he sighed and uncrossed his arms– malevolent spirit, he very much was not. instead, he looked like a runway model with features that seemed to be made out of carved marble. jungwoo suddenly wondered whether looking good was a prerequisite in becoming part of the family. 

"do you want to tour around the estate or just stay in bed for the rest of the day?" 

there was something judgemental in his tone, and jungwoo narrowed his eyes at this. he doesn't like feeling like a child, although he knew deep down he was slightly too immature to deal with people like the grumpy model-looking killer in front of him. 

so, despite wanting to snuggle back in bed and sleep until the next day, jungwoo pushed the covers back and stood up. 

"yeah, sorry. i guess i got carried away with the sleeping." jungwoo mumbled as he shifted to wear his slippers and combed his hair with his fingers. 

he looked up to see taeil staring at him, as if gauging how threatening jungwoo was or if he was pretending to be someone he's not– which, he wasn't doing at all. he's been getting that vibe from the serpents a lot. "do you need… coffee? it might be a lot to take in." 

"i'm good, thank you." jungwoo said politely. "lead the way?"

as soon as they left his bedroom, jungwoo felt another presence and turned to see taeyong silently appearing behind them so quietly it almost made jungwoo scream. he ended up making a choked-up dying sound instead, earning a smirk from taeil and an apologetic frown from taeyong.

"hyung, jungwoo-ssi." taeyong greeted, although his greeting seemed like an afterthought. 

"taeyong-ssi," jungwoo said as calmly as he could, but his words came out like a beg, "please be louder with your footsteps?"

"sorry." taeyong apologized sincerely, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck awkwardly. "and, uh, call me hyung?"

jungwoo wasn't quite sure how he knew jungwoo was younger than him, but he nodded anyways and grinned, earning a small smile from taeyong as well. taeil, who was watching the exchange, seemed to relax slightly for the first time since he stood over the edge of jungwoo's bed. 

"honestly, what is up with you guys sneaking up on unassuming civilians." jungwoo told them, sounding almost scolding. "especially you, taeil-ssi. please _please_ knock the next time you enter my room. i'm not a heavy sleeper so i would have woken up to let you in." 

taeil smirked again, looking very unapologetic. "sorry, won't happen again." he then motioned towards the stairs and began walking. "this way, please." 

jungwoo frowned harder. "you haven't put cameras inside my room, right? or mics?"

the other serpent raised an eyebrow at this, his stride not breaking. "we wouldn't do that." 

"dude, you came in my room and stood there watching me until i woke up." jungwoo pointed out. 

taeil, for the first time, actually looked sheepish at this. "like i said, it won't happen again." 

it wasn't an apology but jungwoo decided to let it slide, as the three of them turned towards a hallway. there were a bunch of staff milling around, pausing from cleaning the curtains or dusting the tables to wave at the two serpents and shoot curious glances at jungwoo. 

jungwoo could only smile back awkwardly. when they finally reached two big doors, jungwoo felt his excitement spike.

"so," he began, barely keeping the excitement from his tone, "is this the torture chamber? the red room? the coke lab?" he asked, clapping his hands together in anticipation.

taeil stared at him in horror. "we don't have a torture– why would we show you the coke lab? and what's a red room?"

"don't tell me you never watched fifty shades of _grey_ –"

"this is the library, jungwoo-ssi." taeyong interrupted, although he looked like he was about to burst out laughing. there seemed to be a valiant attempt to stifle it though, with the way he contorted his features. "we only have the latter, not the other two you mentioned. your sister wouldn't like us showing you the lab though." 

taeil seemed a bit lost now, looking at taeyong as if to say "is he for real?". jungwoo realized he's making people feel flustered again and he ended up muttering a quiet "oh" before blushing.

as if taking pity on the other serpent, taeyong opened both doors and led them inside. the library was breathtaking; it seemed like the one from beauty and the beast with the curved stairs leading to the upper shelves, although most of the books had korean titles on them. 

jungwoo drifted to the nearest bookshelf and saw that they were both japanese and chinese characters on some of the books as well. he eyed a few titles in english as he quickly tried to take it all in. 

"you don't happen to have any young adult novels here?" jungwoo asked casually, never taking his eyes off the books in search of the harry potter set he was hoping to see. 

"like… harry potter? we have the korean and japanese translations there." taeyong said, making jungwoo look up at him to see that the serpent was pointing to a particularly colorful shelf. "that's the shelf for the more modern texts. we don't really have much on that shelf; most of our collection consists of ancient books collected by yukhei's grandfather."

"does your boss read all these?" jungwoo found himself asking in disbelief, looking at taeil first before turning to look at taeyong. 

taeyong chuckled. "he's been busy ever since he took the position, but ten has mentioned to us how yukhei used to read a lot when he was younger. he had a looser curriculum, as he was homeschooled." 

jungwoo raised his eyebrows at this. taeyong must have trusted him enough to share this information; it didn't seem like something they would've normally said to anyone else. he spared a glance at taeil, who also didn't seem to mind. "oh, must have been nice." jungwoo commented sincerely. 

they spend a few minutes in the library and jungwoo would have spent more (they had a translated collection of love stories!!! from ancient china!!!) but then they had to check out the rest of the estate. 

taeil and taeyong then led him to the kitchen, which surprisingly had a lot of teenage men working around and the occasional middle-aged woman. the kitchen was large and much more homely than the rest of the house, consistent with the very beauty-and-the-beast aesthetic they had; with the large windows, natural sunlight and lovely view of the gardens full of produce (no hemp), the whole place really did look like something out of renaissance france. 

"those who are part of the family but are not interested in the business are sent to do household chores in order to earn their keep." taeil explained. "the females, however, are all required to do combat training. our family is known to have the deadliest women in the underworld, and we like to keep it at that."

"wow." jungwoo breathed out as they hovered a bit further from the flurry of activity, so as not to disturb the people working. the teenagers shot him curious glances, but the middle-aged women gave him a warm smile. 

"taeil, taeyong." one of them called, shuffling towards them while trying to wipe the flour off her hands on her apron. she kissed both boys on the cheek, while they avoided jungwoo's amused gaze and tried not to blush. "what brings you here? is this a new recruit?"

the woman eyed jungwoo and before the other two can answer her, she was exclaiming "oh my! what a pretty young man." she commented so naturally, it made jungwoo blush as well. "red lips, pink cheeks, and skin so pale– looks like we have our very own snow white!"

jungwoo was downright embarrassed now. old asian ladies really don't know how to filter their words. "ah, not really…" he mumbled sheepishly, although he gave in to the woman's pinching. 

"he's not a recruit, mama suh. he's irene's brother, kim jungwoo." taeil told her. 

his voice was quiet but the words carried throughout the room and brought in a cold, heavy air inside the kitchen as everyone else seemed to pause from their work and turned to look at jungwoo with wariness in their eyes. even mama suh stopped from pinching jungwoo's cheeks, making jungwoo wince.

"we're keeping him safe here until irene isn't being targeted anymore." taeyong explained, voice low. the older woman was looking at jungwoo seriously now.

"well, then. we don't have any reason to keep him at an arm's length– he's basically family." the woman said firmly. "welcome to our estate. all the boys here are dramatic fucks, but i'm sure you're familiar with your sister's ways so it wouldn't come as much of a shock anymore to you–"

"mama suh!"

"oh, you all are too fucking scared of joohyun." mama suh scolded, giving the two serpents a glare before facing a stunned jungwoo. "don't get me wrong, i have a soft spot for your diva of a sister. joohyun has visited me in this kitchen a bunch of times already, scaring all these boys away every time."

"really?" jungwoo asked, very much surprised. 

"of course! now i don't see what's so scary about her, she's a sweet girl. although i personally think she should really tone down on the dramatics…"

jungwoo burst out laughing, earning looks of disbelief from the other two boys. "she does tend to be a drama queen, yeah."

"and the boys, they all eat it up." mama suh continued ruthlessly. jungwoo pretended not to notice as taeyong, taeil and some of the teenagers working in the kitchen duck their head in shame. "next time she visits, you'll see that there will be no male serpent within fifty meters from her. happens all the time."

"i know, i don't need to see it to know that it's true." jungwoo told her solemnly, making her laugh lightly. 

"damn right. oh, jungwoo, i like you already. i hope you enjoy your stay here, dear." mama suh said affectionately, patting his cheek with a warm smile on her face. 

"t-thank you..."

"you can call me mama suh, as everyone else does in this household." she said, once again giving him a warm smile. then she slowly assessed him in the way asian mothers do. "do you know how to cook?"

"sorry, no. but i'd like to learn." jungwoo told her earnestly. 

"maybe you can come back here tomorrow? i usually prepare food for xuxi and his inner circle; god knows they need it." she said fondly, eyeing taeyong and taeil playfully.

jungwoo nodded at her eagerly, before raising both his eyebrows at taeil. "xuxi?"

"yukhei's nickname." he explained curtly, leaving no room for discussion. jungwoo was careful not to react; he understood that the nickname is not open to use for outsiders.

"i'll be coming back tomorrow." jungwoo promised mama suh, holding her hands with both of his very gently. "will probably drop by around lunch." 

"i'll hold on to that promise." mama suh winked. "i won't keep you any longer. take care of jungwoo, boys." 

"yes, mama suh." the two others chorused, a bit sulkily. taeil looked close to pouting. 

the rest of the tour thing was a blur after that. taeil and taeyong took him to the different parts of the estate, including the art room (he _knew_ it was there), and the three places he was supposedly banned from– just so he knows "where not to go", taeil had said. 

throughout the tour, jungwoo received more weird looks from the serpents. some of them with actual fear in their eyes, and he wondered what kind of reputation he has here in south korea 

it's kind of nice, to have some sort of street cred this early on without actually having to work for it. jungwoo knew it wasn't going to last, but he basked in the fear and respect emanating from such dangerous men. it's quite nice to be feared by the fearful. 

the other two serpents who were with him were scoffing the whole time.

"don't look so smug, jungwoo." taeil muttered, as they walked out of the impressively large wine cellar. just like taeyong, he seemed to have warmed up to jungwoo pretty fast. aside from red velvet, they're probably the only serpents in the whole estate who knew about his harmless character. 

"let me bask in my newfound popularity." jungwoo snapped, earning a laugh from taeyong. "all these mafia people being so frightened of me gives me _life_. they don't know i'm just a polsci student from the philippines, who locks himself in the room and plays minecraft for hours on end."

taeil was trying not to look amused as well, but there was a glint in his eyes. jungwoo smirked at him, nudging the mafia dude on the shoulder. "and you're one to talk. you didn't trust me at first, either."

the serpent shrugged, a light pink dusting his cheeks. "we wouldn't be where we are if we trust so easily." he replied. jungwoo wanted to tease him some more, but decided to let it slide. 

"that's true, that's true." he relented. "but you know what i can't believe?" 

both serpents turned to look at him. "what?"

"yukhei managing all this on his own." jungwoo said, a bit of awe creeping in his tone. he watched as taeyong ducked down to hide a pleased smile, while taeil's eyes lit up with pride. "honestly. he's what, twenty-one? twenty-two?" 

"twenty."

"twenty?!" jungwoo gasped. "so i'm older than him? what the fuck."

taeyong raised an eyebrow at him. "why is this so hard to believe?"

jungwoo groaned and was full on pouting as they walked towards the living room. "i can't believe someone younger than me has his shit together. i'm a fucking mess– no seriously, taeil don't look at me like that. i'm a _grown man_ with the mind of a twelve year old. my weekend consists of movie marathons and hours of minecraft pe. probably sims 4, if my laptop is feeling it." 

he glanced at the other two serpents morosely. "yukhei probably has a driver's license too, doesn't he– and he probably pays his taxes or something." 

taeil was staring at him now like he couldn't believe he ever thought jungwoo was scary, while taeyong was trying to stifle his laughter. "he does," taeyong said solemnly, "and he pays taxes for our legal businesses."

"see! i don't have a driver's license. i don't know how to drive. i don't pay my taxes because i don't have a job, and i don't even know how to cook– i am a useless addition to this household. " jungwoo rambled on, plopping on the couch dramatically. 

"you're not really supposed to do anything while you're here, though." taeyong reminded him, sitting down as well. 

"but i want to help out, earn my keep. i don't want to be a useless pet, like– like a rabbit, or something, who does nothing but eat, poop and sleep. and act cute. but acting cute is useless– if my sole contribution is my looks, then it's not very value-adding because i haven't even seen a single ugly white serpent so far. it's fucking ridiculous." jungwoo continued to say. 

there was a silence. jungwoo peeked at his hyungs– taeil relented earlier that afternoon, saying that jungwoo can call him hyung with the heaviest sigh– and saw something a bit fond on their faces as they stared at him. 

jungwoo smiled inwardly. the two serpents may be badass mafia men, but they seem to be softies as well if they are this fond of him already. 

"well," taeyong said, breaking the silence, "you know we can always arrange something for you to do. we can make you a schedule." 

"if possible, i'd rather not go with the indoor college thing. i like political science, but i want to have more… life skills. like cooking." he paused. "or making drugs."

"jungwoo." taeyong scolded so naturally, giving the younger a disapproving frown. 

"i'm kidding, i'm kidding…" jungwoo said, laughing. "½ kidding. would really want to learn for kicks, to be completely honest."

"jungwoo!"

"kidding!" jungwoo yelped, just to get that strict motherly gaze taeyong was shooting him. "kidding. you just have to introduce me to the others so i won't be bored enough to actively try and learn how to make drugs." 

"you can join us for dinner, then." taeil said, pulling out his phone and typing rapidly. "most of the serpents eat dinner in the east wing, right across the kitchen. but we eat dinner here in the main building, dining room." 

jungwoo raised his eyebrows, a bit nervous now. "will i be meeting the rest of the… inner circle?" 

"yes. but you don't have to worry; they're a bunch of chaotic airheads." taeil assured him, looking up from his phone. 

there was a _kakao!_ sound from taeyong's pocket, and taeyong raised his eyebrows at taeil as he pulled his phone out. 

"'dinner with kim jungwoo later. brace yourselves.'" taeyong read out loud before huffing a laugh. "hyung, you're so evil. they're probably shitting their pants."

"i know." taeil said, almost gleefully. right as he said this, their phones started to blow up.

"what are they saying?" jungwoo asked over the repeating sound of _kakao! kakao!_ _kakao!_ from taeyong's phone. taeyong showed him his phone screen.

**イナーサークル**

**🌙taeil**

dinner with kim jungwoo later. brace yourselves.

**babysuh**

wait WHAT

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

**🍑jaejae🍑**

holy shit

HOLY SHIT

**youngmoney🐰**

WHAT

HYUNG

WHAT WERE U THINKING

**10/10**

everybody calm the fuck down

u guys are overreacting

jesus, i thought this was an emergency

**leader-nim**

sorry ten n i cant be there

still in daegu, will probably be here until tomorrow

**🍑jaejae🍑**

holy shit

**leader-nim**

good luck with dinner

**babysuh**

**@leader-nim @10/10** ure leaving us to fend for ourselves??

?!?!?!

**youngmoney🐰**

WE'RE EATING DINNER WITH IRENE'S MALE SPAWN

OFC WE'RE FREAKING OUT **@10/10**

**10/10**

JUNGWOO IS NOT IRENE'S MALE SPAWN WTF

u just made jungwoo sound gross 

and ure all grown men, yall can handle urselves

**🌙taeil**

hmmm idk about that

u guys will have to see for urselves

**10/10**

@ **🌙taeil** hyung!

**babysuh**

FUCKFUCKFUCK

**🍑jaejae🍑**

lordy im MF SCARED

**10/10**

he's not scary

u fucking airheads

istg yall r embarrassing me

**youngmoney🐰**

**@TY🌹** WHY R U LEAVING US ON SEEN

TELL US WHAT'S HAPPENING

**TY🌹**

see u later 

be on ur best behavior

**babysuh**

the FUCK does that mean???

  
  


taeyong then sighed and set his phone to silent, before pocketing it. "sorry, i can't show you more. they're embarrassing." 

"it's fine." jungwoo murmured, a bit dazed. he was half-expecting the inner circle to be as serious and put-together as red velvet, but they seemed to be as chaotic as him. "wow."

"thoughts?" taeil asked. 

"i expected them– no, _you guys_ – to be like red velvet." jungwoo admitted, making the other two laugh loudly.

"oh," taeil laughed, wiping a stray tear from his eye. "oh, god no. we may be the ones in charge of the business side of things, but we don't have red velvet's discipline and professionalism."

jungwoo's eyebrows raised practically to his hairline. "oh?"

"we put up a front, of course, when dealing with the people from the underworld but the inner circle is ultimately just a bunch of… boys." taeyong explained. "the only ones who can actually be at par with red velvet are taeil, ten, xuxi– sorry, _yukhei_ – and me. doyoung, jaehyun, and johnny… they're a lot harder to take seriously. you'll see, later." 

jungwoo smiled, glad that some of the evil killer mafia men are on the same wavelength as him. "okay. i can't wait." he said sincerely, looking at taeil and taeyong both. 

for the first time, he actually felt hopeful about his stay in the estate. he thought he'd be dreading it, after reading too many fics online about some mafia dude falling in love with an innocent civilian. everything was portrayed to be dark and dreary– and maybe it is, maybe he hasn't fully seen what life in the estate can actually become. 

but with taeil laughing at his phone and taeyong rolling his eyes fondly at the scene, jungwoo had a feeling that the serpent family estate will be more of a home for him than the kim-bae estate will ever be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the whole covid situation is… well, it’s fucking terrible. i’m lucky enough to sit comfortably inside my house and not worry about food or other resources, but i’ve been angry a lot because of our incompetent government and the people suffering in our country. 
> 
> i kind of want to punch the president in the face. him, and other government officials. #oustduterte
> 
> anyway i hope you guys are doing well, keeping yourself clean and trying to be healthy. please stay safe, and help out others if you can.

**jungwoo**

jungwoo felt pretty happy about himself and excited about what's to come. 

his day went surprisingly well, despite waking up to two serpents staring down at him with judgement on their faces. taeil and taeyong managed to tour him around the estate without him causing any damage (although he did almost knock a whole wall down at the wine cellar), and he was starting to understand how life works for them here. 

despite being run by a group of men barely into their 20's, the white serpents are really progressive. in fact, jungwoo thinks that the white serpents are progressive because of this group of men barely into their 20’s; the women are given equal rights, their employees are all contractualized, their sex workers are ensured proper security and insurance and everyone is given a choice to stay or leave this life.

and sure, they still do some shady shit— shady shit that they probably will never tell jungwoo— but he is pretty glad that their business is associated with the white serpents. and not, you know, a mafia like the jians’. 

he also discovered that the life of those who did not partake in any of the businesses lived fairly simple lives, which was something he can definitely appreciate. with the way things are and the way people live under the care of the family, it obviously showed good leadership.

of course, he would be interested in knowing about what they do in the more dangerous side of the mafia, that ratatata shit, but right now he would be content in learning basic life skills. and getting to know the people well. 

starting with the inner circle.

when dinnertime came, jungwoo went down from his room and sought out taeyong, who was waiting for him by the living room. 

“ready to meet my idiot brothers?” taeyong asked jungwoo.

jungwoo gave his hyung a smile in lieu of an answer, then proceeded to enter the dining room with taeyong trailing behind him. he heard voices inside, lively and animated. but as soon as they went in, the chatter from the people inside came into an abrupt halt. 

in the dining room, there already were two other men aside from taeil— who was trying to hide his glee and failing. the two were already in their respective seats, and were staring at jungwoo with something like unease. 

both of them looked nothing like members of a mafia. in fact, they looked like college students in their loose t-shirts and sweatpants. this does not seem to dampen their good looks, however; once again, jungwoo found himself questioning the specifications required in hiring people for this family.

thankfully, the two didn't have their jaws open in shock as they stared at jungwoo— a scene he’s too familiar with after touring around the estate and seeing all the other members of the family— but their eyes followed jungwoo's every move as the kim-bae cautiously went to the chair across the three and sat down.

"...hello." he greeted tentatively, offering a small smile. taeyong silently sat beside him, shooting jungwoo an amused look. "i'm jungwoo."

there was a painful silence. then taeil cleared his throat. 

"ah!" the one nearest to taeil jumped, pasting a nervous smile on his face. "i'm doyoung."

the other one waved a bit casually, with eyes that still looked wary. "johnny." 

the food was already laid out in front of them, smelling so good and making jungwoo's mouth water. but even if he wanted to dig in, they seemed to be waiting for another person.

and the other two serpents were staring at him, making him uncomfortable.

jungwoo looked sideways, pressing his lips into a thin line before his gaze landed back on the other two who were still looking at him expectantly.

he blinked at them. they blinked back at him.

taeil and taeyong watched them, their gazes going back and forth between the two sides, refusing to diffuse the tension.

jungwoo let the awkward staring drag for a full minute before deciding that it was too painful. "okay, it was kind of funny at first but now it's just sad." jungwoo sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration and turning to glare at the other two. 

johnny and doyoung startled out of their stares, as if they didn’t realize they were staring at him. 

“s-sorry?”

“look, i’m not like my sister okay.” jungwoo started to say. “my life is in shambles and it's funny that you think i'm as scary and put-together as my noona. im a twenty-one year old _flop_ , the only disappointment of the kim-bae empire, who used to be a mediocre polsci student in the philippines. i don't know how to drive, cook, pay my taxes, but i do know how to build a fucking rad castle in minecraft survival mode and i did memorize articles one to five of the philippine constitution so i'm not totally useless. i think." 

much like how taeil looked a while ago, the two of them seemed as if the rug had been pulled abruptly from beneath them. taeyong and taeil were full-on grinning now; taeil was leaning forward as if he wanted to hear more about jungwoo’s sad life, and taeyong seemed busy trying to tone down the very wide smile on his face.

jungwoo patiently waited for their reply, eager to just dig into the food because he didn't have any fucking lunch, when the person they were expecting noisily made his way to the chair next to taeil. 

everyone looked up. “sorry i'm late." the new guy said casually, shooting everyone a smile as he sat down.

jungwoo was suddenly overwhelmed by the sight of the very handsome addition to their table, unlike the rest of them, who were wearing casual clothes, the newcomer was wearing a suit with nothing underneath the suit jacket, his pale chest gleaming tantalizingly. his hair was also styled elegantly, a few strands purposely falling on his forehead.

he looked like teenage jungwoo’s wet dream. it was a bit overwhelming.

if everyone else in this estate looked good, this guy was god-tier handsome. he looked a bit like yukhei the first time jungwoo met him, except this guy seemed a bit like someone who would flirt with every living thing, and not like yukhei who had such lovely eyes and seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve— 

jungwoo abruptly frowned, not liking the way his brain immediately compared the handsome guy to yukhei. 

to his credit, the newcomer was looking at jungwoo in the eyes. if he was scared, he did not show it. the newcomer then cocked his head to the side a bit curiously; jungwoo wondered if it was on purpose, because it made him look cuter. “hello. i’m jaehyun.” 

even if he was surprised that the newcomer was addressing him directly, jungwoo did not flinch and held the newcomer's gaze. “hi. i’m jungwoo.”

jaehyun assessed the reactions of his brothers around the table cautiously, as if sensing that he came in a bit late and missed some of the fun.”uh…what did i miss?" 

“i was just telling them my life story. letting them know the real me and all that.” jungwoo said casually. “i felt the need to explain because taeil-hyung scared you all shitless into thinking that i'm noona's 'male spawn’, when i'm actually a major flop of the kim-bae family because i’m normal. and i honestly just want to eat." 

his admittance of hunger seemed to fall on deaf ears as everyone latched on everything else that he just said. taeyong just started snickering beside him, shortly joined by taeil, earning looks of betrayal from johnny and doyoung. they both seemed to get over their surprise and looked pretty pissed. 

“okay, you’re both real assholes, you know that?” johnny groaned, running a hand through his hair in frustration. jungwoo just stared at the food longingly, knowing that this might take them long. he also understood that it would be rude to cut their lamentations short just to dig in, so he patiently tried not to breathe in the smell of food. 

“we should have believed ten.” doyoung muttered, before finally looking at jungwoo in the eyes. “these two demons told us nothing and we were trained to expect the worst out of everything so that's what we did." 

"that was a bit cruel of you guys." jungwoo agreed mildly, looking at taeil and taeyong. "you guys should apologize."

"no thanks."

johnny and doyoung shot taeil a glare. taeil only shrugged at them. 

“you didn’t seem so surprised. or scared.” jungwoo pointed out as he raised his eyebrows at jaehyun.

“honestly, i was scared shitless at first, but i had better training in dealing with scary people and ignoring insignificant feelings such as fear.” jaehyun said so seriously, jungwoo doesn’t know whether to laugh or give him a hug. 

no one on that table really knew what to say to that. jungwoo really just wanted to eat. 

"so… you're really not going to go all batshit crazy on us?" johnny asked abruptly, visibly relaxing. jungwoo tensed; he thought johnny was going to declare that they should start eating. 

“dude, no. does my sister ever go batshit crazy on you all?" jungwoo asked pointedly.

"no, but she has this general vibe that she won't hesitate to stab you with her montblanc if you accidentally say the wrong thing." doyoung admitted, wincing at jungwoo as if his sister could hear their words through him. "sorry."

"it's fine. you should have already known from the general vibe that i was emitting, which is obviously not like that at all." jungwoo told them, eyes flickering down to the food. "and while i love her, we're not actually related so i didn't inherit the scary empress wu genes from madam bae." jungwoo admitted, before frowning. "huh. i don't think i inherited anything from my dad, either."

"you have the same nose." taeil observed uselessly, watching jungwoo stare at the food longingly. "anyway. jungwoo slept through lunch, so we should really let him eat. dig in, guys.”

jungwoo tried not to look too relieved, and happily started to serve himself some food. taeyong, who seemed to take a motherly type of role in jungwoo's life now, placed some meat on his plate and served him some soup.

"thanks, hyung." jungwoo said, a bit shyly. taeyong gave him a soft smile before serving himself. 

the others seemed surprised at the exchange, and jungwoo wondered how taeyong actually is to other people. there must be a story behind it, something connected to the multiple scars on taeyong’s arms that jungwoo pretended not to see earlier that day.

deciding not to dwell on it and knowing that taeyong will tell him at his own pace, jungwoo pushed it out of his head. “i haven’t had korean food for a while now, i missed this.” jungwoo sighed happily, digging in.

“ten years is a long time.” doyoung sympathized, almost making jungwoo choke.

“you fucking idiot. they have korean food in the philippines.” johnny hissed, before elbowing the other. 

doyoung didn’t retaliate as he tried to hide his blush. “oh.”

“no, it’s fine.” jungwoo laughed good-naturedly. “my roommates were korean as well, so their parents visited almost every weekend to make sure we had side dishes and proper korean cooking. but it’s not like i get to eat korean food every day.” 

“oh, so that’s why you still speak korean well.” jaehyun observed. 

“yeah. but also, my sister visited me often and it’s not like she spoke english or tagalog to me.” 

there was a hum of acknowledgement around the table. “you can speak tagalog?” taeil asked, sounding impressed already.

jungwoo blushed at the sudden attention, as everyone else looked at him in awe. “well, yeah. i had to. i spent a decade there; it was quite easy to pick up the language. it was easy to learn english too, because they like to switch between both languages all the time.” 

“that’s so cool.” johnny commented sincerely. 

“i mean i guess. it was frustrating at first, because some of my filipino classmates would start their sentences in english before ending it in tagalog. i’d understand the first part only to not know what the last part meant so i had to learn.” jungwoo shared, before blushing a deeper shade. “sorry, i said too much didn’t i?”

“no no no, it’s fine.” doyoung said hurriedly. “you have no idea how interesting this is for us. you have such a mysterious reputation among the different mafia families here. it’s nice to hear what you’ve been up to these past ten years, we’re all curious.” 

jungwoo looked up from his food in shock, only to see everyone else nodding along. “what? really?”

he has a reputation? among the mafias? 

“you think you’re famous among us white serpents? try the whole underbelly of south korea.” jaehyun told jungwoo, making the kim-bae’s eyes widen comically. “the way your sister tried to keep you secret, no one knew what you look like or where you were but everyone knew your name. everyone was curious, but they didn’t dare ask so all kinds of rumors came up.”

jungwoo sensed taeyong stiffen a little beside him. “seriously?” jungwoo asked cautiously, sensing that taeyong must know something. 

he didn’t quite believe that no one knew what he looked like. judging from the way taeyong reacted, the serpent must have known something about this. 

“yeah. we thought you’d be as dangerous as her, or more since she hid you away.” doyoung admitted.

jungwoo snorted, very much amused. “you guys thought i was some sort of weapon?” 

they all nodded, making jungwoo let out a laugh. “oh my god. how did it feel when you realized that _the_ kim jungwoo is a twenty-one year old flop?” jungwoo giggled before happily biting into his chicken. 

“you’re enjoying this too much.” jaehyun observed flatly. 

“of course.” jungwoo shot back shamelessly. “being feared by the most dangerous men of south korea brings me joy.”

“you don’t even know what we do.” taeil scoffed, but jungwoo didn’t miss the way he preened at jungwoo’s comment. how they all preened.

“then tell me.” jungwoo demanded. “what _do_ you guys do?” a pause. “no, wait, let me guess— doyoung grows the hemp in his little garden and johnny cooks the drugs in his little kitchen. then jaehyun sells the drugs door-to-door.” 

there were then sounds of choking across him. 

“ya! we are your _hyungs_.”

“door to door? seriously? in this outfit?” 

“why are taeil and taeyong excluded from this narrative?” 

jungwoo giggled, smiling at them angelically. “sorry.” 

“for your information, you little shit,” johnny started to say, although his words had no real bite, “i train the new recruits. we call them the dreamies." 

jungwoo frowned, a bit concerned. "uh, dreamies?" 

“it’s a bit tacky, but it’s as deceptive as ‘red velvet’. throws people off." johnny explained, shrugging. "anyway, me and taeyong, we take care of the recruits—i take care of the younger recruits and taeyong takes care of the older ones. we also have kun in china and yuta in japan, managing our businesses and people there."

jungwoo was shocked. he didn't know that the white serpents were so… spread out in the world. "china and japan? i thought you guys are solely based in south korea.”

“we’re not everywhere in the world, but our reach goes to a few countries.” taeyong explained. "aside from japan and china, we also have allies in thailand and ten's parents manage the people there. ten's mom and yukhei's mom were sisters, so when she married into this family, they naturally had a formal alliance."

"what the hell do you need sm holdings for, then?” jungwoo asked everyone, baffled. "no offense to my own family, but i don't think you need us for anything. you seem to be doing fine on your own."

“we’re not as well-off financially as the kim-baes.” jaehyun explained, shrugging. “and since it seems like seulgi is staying with irene for the rest of their lives, irene is basically marrying her way into the family."

jungwoo nodded, taking it all in and chewing his food thoughtfully. then he started eyeing doyoung. “what about you?” jungwoo asked, before adding a confused “hyung”.

doyoung made a vague ‘go ahead’ gesture—jungwoo’s not sure if doyoung really was older, but he decided to shrug it off. “i do the sourcing and provide the weapons, drugs, even the booze for the clubs.” the serpent told him.

jungwoo whistled low, impressed. “so, like, logistics?” he asked, thinking back on his college org involvement—he was always signing up as a logistics member.

of course, it was different from whatever doyoung was doing, but the nature was the same. it was a hard job that everyone takes for granted.

“yup.” doyoung replied, trying not to look too flattered.

jungwoo nodded, before turning to look at jaehyun expectantly. the other was already watching him and caught his gaze, before giving him a charming smile.

“i manage the businesses.” jaehyun said with a flourish. “i’m the richest out of all these motherfuckers.”

there was a chorus of sighs and some rolled their eyes, but jaehyun wasn’t done as he looked at jungwoo and his smile turned into a crooked smirk. "so if you need a sugar daddy–"

"nope, no, it’s a no for me jaehyun.” johnny interrupted, shaking his head and staring at his food in disappointment.

doyoung leaned into the table and holding his spoon like a mic. “it’s also a no for me.” he agreed solemnly before leaning back into his chair.

“i think it’s a no for everybody.” taeil commented loudly, before pointedly sipping his water.

“it’s not like i’m asking all of you.” jaehyun said, rolling his eyes.

jungwoo giggled, unfazed by the flirting. "i'll keep that in mind." he played along, returning jaehyun’s wink and laughing.

jaehyun’s gaze shifted to jungwoo, eyes playful and maybe something else. jungwoo was sensing something different so he turned away and broke the moment before jaehyun could say anything else.

jungwoo’s gaze landed on taeyong. “what about ten, hyung? what does he do?”

the question was innocent enough, but it seemed to have triggered something among the rest of them. taeyong started to smile fondly, although he didn’t seem aware. everyone else, however, was looking at him with a mild glare.

"he's the right-hand man of yukhei, as his best friend and cousin. he’s like a glorified secretary, putting out fires before they could even start and taking note of everything xuxi needs to know.” taeyong explained, a little smile on his face as he talked. for the first time that day, jungwoo saw his eyes actually _sparkle_.

"ugh, look at how he smiles." johnny commented in mock disgust, before catching jungwoo's confused look." they're so fucking in love, we're all sick of it."

jungwoo frowned. "what's wrong with that? gay rights, motherfuckers."

“it’s not that we’re homophobic,” doyoung said so exasperatedly, jungwoo wondered how many times he’s done this, “but they’re always so close to fucking no matter who is in the room.”

“oh.” a pause. “ _aw_ ,” jungwoo found himself saying as he turned to look at taeyong with a melancholic smile, “that’s kind of sweet.”

“sweet?” johnny sputtered. “ _what?_ ”

“you say that now but wait until ten gets here.” taeil warned. “it’s been three years since they’ve been together. we thought the honeymoon stage was just for a few months until it stretched out into years.”

“i was in a room with them, once,” doyoung started to tell them all. “thought they saw me—i mean, i was sure ten and i had eye contact—but then they started making out. i made multiple noises to announce my presence but they just wouldn’t stop.” the serpent was full-on shuddering.

there was something like pity on jungwoo’s face, and taeyong was ducking his face to hide his embarrassed blush. “oh.”

“yeah, _oh_. i ran before taeyong could start removing his pants—"

“okay, you can stop now.” taeyong interrupted sharply, face burning. the rest of the table started laughing.

“he’s only thick-skinned when ten is there. but when they’re together, they get really shameless.” johnny told jungwoo. “they make everyone feel single as fuck.”

taeyong rolled his eyes, blush still tinting his cheeks. “you’re all just jealous because we’re in love.”

“we actually just don’t want to see the proof of your very active sex lives.” jaehyun corrected.

“maybe let’s stop talking about sex?” jungwoo suggested, earning a hum of agreement among the rest. taeyong sighed in relief beside him. 

there was a lull to the conversation after that, and everyone just focused on finishing their food. the silence was comfortable, and much needed as jungwoo needed time to take it all in.

jungwoo was glad that they’re all quite young and fairly normal; of course, he could definitely see a different sort of grace with the way they move, but they pose no danger to him. they’re still very much human and not the devils who gave up their souls for the dangerous life like he initially imagined.

more than that, they seem to be very kind, despite it all. jungwoo knew they must have a front, a persona they present to the rest of the underworld just so they can get by and get things done. he’s glad he got to see the real versions of themselves first—unlike yukhei.

he found himself frowning at that thought. not for the first time that day, yukhei popped into his mind. jungwoo might have seen through the façade, but it doesn’t change the fact that he hasn’t seen the white serpent boss’s true colors first.

and yukhei seemed uncomfortable with jungwoo seeing through the smirk and lazy gaze during their first meeting. he’s worried that yukhei won’t be as open to him as the rest of his inner circle is.

_but why should that matter to you, jungwoo?_ his brain retaliated. _he was just tasked to ensure your safety, nothing else. he owes you nothing._

and that’s true, isn’t it? it shouldn’t really matter, jungwoo realized.

yet, as he watched the others pick up from where they left off and started to bicker with the familiarity of close siblings, he can’t help but _want_. he wanted to see yukhei and ten with them, joking along. he wanted yukhei to look at him with an open, trusting expression. he wanted—

he wanted to see yukhei, he realized with a start.

_nope, no, nonONONONONO_ he shouted in his head, very much alarmed.

_a mafia is still a mafia, it’s not all shit’s and giggles. just because the white serpents are progressive, just because yukhei is such a good leader for his young age, just because he’s_ cute _as fuck, he’s still dangerous and definitely not crush-material—this isn’t a fucking wattpad story, you fool._

he’s trying to destroy the idea viciously in his head now, not wanting to delve into his newfound happy crush any deeper. but his rational thinking seemed set on punishing him for liking yukhei.

_you fucking clown,_ jungwoo moaned inwardly. _you’ve met him once. why couldn’t you have gone with a guy you actually already have had a full conversation with?_

_like who?_

_like... taeil?_

jungwoo's facial expression soured. _no, definitely not him._

“—jungwoo?” taeyong called gently, nudging the kim-bae. “are you okay?”

the rest of the table were looking at him, half-curious, half-concerned. jungwoo shook himself out of his internal dilemma.

“sorry, i—i just remembered something embarrassing." jungwoo lied, trying to chuck the idea out of his mind and forcing a smile.

with one last attempt to destroy every wild idea of him and yukhei, he focused on the people right in front of him. then, ignoring the lingering feeling of impending doom due to his weak homosexual ass, he leaned in and asked conversationally, “so what are your harry potter houses?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there aren't ten and jungwoo interactions yet which im really sorry for BUT they will have a lot in the upcoming chapters. 
> 
> as for the number of chapters... well, let's just say this is gonna be long. im really sorry HAHAHAHA
> 
> also, here's a little playlist i made!! it's my mafia playlist; i made this a while back. there arent any korean songs here unfortunately but yeah hope u give it a listen: [mafia pew pew](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0pFwSHeVxR0UmfMNhWFpXS?si=XLbnBiv5RXWePfRYMpbdxg%5D)
> 
> PS: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COMMENT DOWN CORRECTIONS/CRITICISMS

**lucas**

it has been three days since jungwoo settled into the estate, and yukhei has been actively avoiding him the whole time. which, by the way, was no small feat since their rooms were not too far from each other and they live in the same building.

now, he was running out of valid reasons why he couldn’t meet jungwoo personally. thankfully, the dinner was not an everyday thing; his inner circle had their own schedules this week, and yukhei was known to eat dinner any time between 9pm to 3am.

but the fact that he hasn’t seen jungwoo for three days seems a bit suspicious. it doesn’t help that in this short time, his inner circle already seemed so enamored with irene’s brother. when he and ten came back from their business trip to daegu, the circle has mentioned him briefly with similar fond smiles on their faces and kept asking him if he already checked up on the kim-bae boy.

part of the reason why he was avoiding jungwoo for so long is because he doesn’t want to fall under whatever spell the kim-bae boy cast upon his most trusted men. the other reason was because he didn’t know what to think of the way jungwoo looked at him, the way he saw through yukhei’s bullshit.

so yukhei would have avoided meeting jungwoo again for as long he could, but ten was starting to notice something’s up and he really can’t have that. it was also his job to ensure the kim-bae’s safety, so he should really go and check-up on him to see if he’s alright. after all, he needed something to say to irene when she visits the estate to see her brother.

so, despite the dread he felt in seeing the kim-bae boy again, he found himself texting ten’s boyfriend as to their whereabouts.

after a quick text from taeyong, he ended up walking to the kitchen and finding a highly entertained mama suh, a laughing taeyong, and a sheepish jungwoo crouching over what looked like…

“what are we making here?” yukhei asked cautiously as he neared, just to be sure he was looking at what seemed to vaguely resemble _galbitang_ inside a pot.

the three of them snapped their heads up to see him approach them carefully, with jungwoo flushing a pretty shade of pink.

_cute_.

yukhei sniffed and tried not to wrinkle his nose at the weird smell— it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t something he smelled before. he looked at jungwoo expectantly as he sat at the bar facing them.

“it’s… galbitang?” jungwoo told him, sounding quite unsure about it himself. which was alarming, because from the looks of it, he was the one who made it.

“actually, we’re not so sure either.” taeyong snickered, earning an adorable little glare from jungwoo.

thankfully, jungwoo didn’t ask why yukhei was just standing there, staring at the three. the kim-bae motioned for yukhei to come near and held out a spoon. “it doesn’t taste bad? but it doesn’t really taste like galbitangs.”

yukhei didn’t know what to think about how natural jungwoo held out the spoon to him. it seemed like second nature to him, to include yukhei in their little bubble. deciding to go along with it, yukhei leaned forward and tasted the soup without giving it much thought.

then his expression soured.

he swallowed immediately so he wouldn’t spit it out. “what is this?” yukhei sputtered, coughing a bit with his eyes tearing up.

taeyong and mama suh burst out laughing at his expression, both looking pointedly at jungwoo with raised eyebrows. “hey, it’s not that bad! it reminds me of a dish back in the philippines, called sinigang.” jungwoo protested weakly, voice fading at the end.

“but galbitang’s not supposed to be so… sour.” yukhei said, blinking away the tears from the sour taste that still lingered inside his mouth. thankfully, it wasn’t bitter; it just seemed a little too much like lemon, in soup form.

jungwoo shot mama suh an apologetic face. “i might have projected my desire to eat sinigang?”

“it’s fine, dear. maybe we can salvage it.” mama suh told him, gently pushing him aside to grab the pot with some potholders. “that’s enough for today. you boys hang around here while i salvage this for lunch later.”

jungwoo looked at her guiltily. “but, i was going to help you today—"

“woo, dear, go sit down. you can help me tomorrow with lunch.” mama suh told him firmly, moving to the other side of the kitchen to do her magic on the soup. “stay there and don’t move.”

jungwoo turned to yukhei, frowning now. “it wasn’t that bad, was it?” he asked, eyes a bit wide and imploring. yukhei knows he’s a year younger than jungwoo, but there was such a child-like innocence radiating from him that made him want to punch walls and do everything to keep it there.

“um.” yukhei started to say, sitting at the glancing at taeyong for help. taeyong just smirked. “maybe? the smell deceived me. i didn’t know it was going to be so sour.”

“it deceived all of us.” taeyong agreed solemnly, letting out a laugh when this earned him a light slap on the shoulder from jungwoo.

yukhei was staring now, but he couldn’t help it. he was surprised to see how taeyong joked with irene’s brother so freely— it’s just been three days.

taeyong was usually the most reserved out of all of them, not so easy with his loyalty and trust after dealing with so many terrible things before he joined the serpents. it took yukhei three months before taeyong finally cracked a smile at his jokes.

but then again, maybe he saw a little bit of himself in jungwoo, right before everything went to shit.

“just because you can cook really well, doesn’t mean you can bully other people hyung.” jungwoo complained, trying not to pout and failing. then, he moved to sit with yukhei. “did you want to talk to me about something?”

yukhei nodded and taeyong followed suit. next to yukhei, jungwoo tilted his head to the side, his hair falling in synch and it was—too much.

yukhei did not forget, but he was once again reminded how beautiful jungwoo was.

“just wanted to check up on you.” yukhei told him casually, not liking how his body is reacting to jungwoo’s tiny action; his palms were sweating and he didn’t know what to do with his body for some odd reason. jungwoo didn’t even do anything.

yukhei really was fucked.

before he can spend too much time to think about it, yukhei continued to ask, “how have you been settling in so far? i’m sorry i haven’t been able to meet with you. business has been… difficult.”

it wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the reason why he hasn’t seen jungwoo around either.

jungwoo gave him a bright smile. beside him, taeyong was looking at yukhei with a raised eyebrow, which he pointedly ignored. “it’s okay. it’s not like i go out a lot; i’m used to just staying inside the house. and… your inner circle has been treating me well, making sure i have something to do.”

there was a pause as yukhei seemed to consider his words. then, “what exactly are they making you do?”

jungwoo laughed at yukhei’s wary expression, before shaking his head. “nothing illegal. i did try to convince doyoung hyung to teach me how to make drugs, but he just yelled at me for half an hour.”

yukhei’s stomach dropped, eyes briefly catching taeyong’s amused ones before going back to jungwoo’s face. “what?”

“i think i’m close to breaking him.” jungwoo said gleefully, before finally noticing the gradual unease showing on yukhei’s face. “i’ll take full responsibility. you don’t have to worry about my sister.” jungwoo told him reassuringly, only making yukhei’s stress level spike.

“jungwoo-ssi—”

“i’m kidding! i’m kidding, yukhei.” jungwoo giggled, eyes sparkling attractively. “and please, call me hyung.”

yukhei abruptly stiffened. he wasn’t used to people calling him by his birth name, and he knew he introduced himself as such to jungwoo but there aren’t really much people who call him that. if they do, they don’t say it with so much warmth, and it made the way his birth name roll off of jungwoo’s tongue seem… intimate, somehow.

maybe he’s just projecting.

_and why would you be projecting?_

before his brain can continue that line of thought, yukhei was already shoving it to the far corners of his mind and shooting jungwoo a rueful smile. “i panicked for a moment.” he admitted. “your sister would kill me, hyung.”

“don’t worry, alright? there was no drug-making nor ass-kicking.” jungwoo told him seriously, looking very disappointed. “ugh, i thought i’d have more fun in a _mafia estate_ , cooking drugs not shit galbitang. at least doyoung’s letting me taste the new wine next weekend. if i can’t touch the coke in this place, at least i’m getting some booze.”

yukhei’s head was throbbing now, unsure if jungwoo was being difficult on purpose. from the way taeyong was smirking, it seemed like jungwoo wasn’t. “please don’t do drugs?” he found himself pleading pathetically.

jungwoo looked at him blankly, before understanding dawned on his face. “oh, right. you’re the one who’s supposed to take care of me.” he said, a bit apologetic. “i’m sorry for joking about the drugs. don’t worry, i don’t think it would ever happen.”

yukhei wasn’t quite convinced but he decided to let it slide. “what else have you been doing these past few days?” he asked instead, ignoring the slight unease in his chest.

“i’ve been teaching johnny how to play minecraft, and both taeil and jaehyun have been watching designated survivor with me. i’ve also been trying to learn how to cook—mama suh and taeyong taught me a couple of dishes already.”

“you’ve really been keeping yourself busy, huh?” yukhei murmured. jungwoo nodded.

“that’s all, actually. you didn’t really miss much.” jungwoo said, shrugging. “were you asking because my sister’s visiting today?”

there was a sudden hush inside the kitchen, as yukhei and taeyong both went absolutely rigid at the question.

“i’m sorry what?” taeyong asked, ears turning red. _holy fuck, irene is dropping by today?_

“my sister? she’s visiting today.” jungwoo said, frowning at the both of them.

yukhei’s not as scared of irene as the rest of the people in the estate are after working with her for years, but he still regarded her with a certain level of fear. a fear he tries not to show by being an asshole whenever they meet.

a fear that he was trying desperately not to show, as jungwoo looked at him expectantly. 

“she didn’t mention anything.” yukhei told him, trying not to let his panic show. jungwoo frowned even harder.

“huh. was i not supposed to tell you?” he murmured, more to himself. then he snorted. “what is she, a surprise inspector?”

jungwoo was probably the only one who could stay alive after saying such a thing, along with seulgi. it made yukhei wonder if jungwoo understood how powerful that made him. “i guess she wanted to see if you were happy and if we’re treating you well.” yukhei told him

“and if i’m not happy, will she shoot everybody?” jungwoo asked, shaking his head in disbelief. yukhei caught taeyong’s gaze and he seemed to be thinking the same thing: _yes, she’d make a show of shooting someone in front of all of us for making you miserable._

“both of you, stop it.” jungwoo scolded, when he saw both of them looking at each other in grim acceptance. “stop the—stop being _scared_ , because she’s not going to shoot anyone. i’m actually happy here, and i don’t think seulgi noona would appreciate her family getting shot at.” a pause. “also, why the hell are you scared of my sister? she may be gangster, but you guys are the absolute epitome of the word.”

yukhei didn’t have the strength in him to reply to this, because jungwoo was speaking from a life of privilege from demon queen irene. “what time will she be here?” yukhei asked instead.

jungwoo checked his phone. “in… ten minutes.” he declared, wincing when he heard taeyong inhale sharply. yukhei wanted to scream; he, too, wasn’t prepared to deal with a scary judgmental woman who hardly smiled and always looked like she owned the place she was walking on.

taeyong was already typing on his phone, probably informing the rest of the circle about what was happening. jungwoo must have realized his mistake, as he watched taeyong type a bit desperately into his phone. “fuck, i’m so sorry guys. i promise to tell you immediately the next time she comes here.”

as soon as he said it, there was a _ping!_ from yukhei’s phone. he pulled it out and saw the message was from irene.

** irene ** ** ☠ ** ** ️ ** ** 🗡 **

we have updates. will drop by the estate in ten minutes.

there was another _kakao!_ that followed, which he ignored knowing that it was a panicked message from taeyong to their group chat. “she didn’t even check if i was here.” yukhei muttered, before locking his phone and sighing.

“i’m so sorry.” jungwoo apologized again.

“why are you apologizing? it isn’t your fault your sister scares the fuck out of everyone.” yukhei told jungwoo, making the other laugh. 

“you seem to be immune, though.” jungwoo said, tilting his head again to the side. not for the first time that day, yukhei wanted to scream— _it’s so fucking adorable_.

“i can stand her presence without becoming too overwhelmed, but i don’t think i’ll ever be immune. she is a force to be reckoned with.” yukhei admitted. it made jungwoo laugh.

“want me to teach you how?” jungwoo said, eyes glinting.

“i really don’t think it’s something you learn. especially from you, since she adores you—”

“FUCKING HELL!” johnny cursed loudly, making everyone look up as he entered the kitchen. “IRENE IS COMING WE’RE ALL FUCKING DOOMED—”

“JOHNNY SUH, YOU LITTLE SHIT, DON’T YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE IN MY KITCHEN.” mama suh interrupted just as loudly, glaring at her son.

“…oh, hi mom.” johnny said in a much quieter voice, looking very much like a kicked puppy. “didn’t know you were here! i love you.”

“love you too, but you’re embarrassing me.” mama suh said, shaking her head as she refused to look up from her cooking.

jungwoo seemed to be having a field day as he snickered at the horrified expression on johnny’s face. “hyung, it’s okay.” he assured. “noona’s not going to go feral when i tell her i’m doing okay here.”

“yes, but she always does this threatening thing after we assure her that things are going well.” jaehyun said, suddenly popping out of nowhere with taeil in tow. “thankfully, i’m just about to leave to check up on ten hyung and the gangnam situation. just dropping to say bye to yall.”

“you’re leaving?” doyoung asked, also appearing in the kitchen. “that’s so unfair!”

“yeah, we’re both leaving.” taeil said, smirking. “just wanted to say goodbye to our darling jungwoo.”

the words made yukhei stare at their eldest hyung, as he was not sure if taeil was joking—only to see that he was actually serious, patting jungwoo on the head affectionately.

_what the fuck?_

jaehyun also leaned in to give jungwoo a hug. “bye. don’t watch episode thirteen without us.”

_WHAT THE FUCK?_ yukhei thought, staring at them. it’s like jungwoo has been family for _years_ , not under their care for just three days.

_and why was jaehyun hugging jungwoo? fucking shameless._

“okay. bye hyungs.” jungwoo said, just as affectionate. yukhei kept staring, not quite believing the power jungwoo has over his inner circle.

“xuxi, we’ll tell you how it goes in gangnam.” taeil said, turning to yukhei. it seemed like he was about to say something else when the intercom made a telltale beeping noise.

“irene bae is at the gate.” the intercom echoed into the sudden silence of the kitchen. yukhei was sure he didn’t imagine the slight shake in the speaker’s voice. “i repeat, irene bae is at the gate.”

“that wasn’t even ten minutes! it’s like five, at most.” johnny complained.

“okay gotta blast.” jaehyun hurried, as taeil and him both rushed out of the kitchen so quickly, seemingly opting to take the long way to the garage. 

“fucking wimps.” doyoung muttered, although he seemed disturbed by the news as well. he then leaned into the intercom and pressed the button. “please let her in.”

there was a crackle. “i’m sorry, sir, but i already did. she looked like she was going to kill me. um, the car’s almost at the driveway.”

“fuck,” doyoung said, trying not to panic and failing. his panic seemed to fuel everyone’s panic as well, including jungwoo who had absolutely no reason to. “FUCK.”

“okay guys, calm down! calm down.” jungwoo commanded, and the panic dissipated slightly. “i’ll meet her with you guys up front. you all have nothing to worry about. jesus.”

“did she bring red velvet?” yukhei asked jungwoo. the other boy nodded.

“yeah, she said she’s with red velvet. you guys are not going to die, alright?” jungwoo told them all reasonably. “also, stop freaking out like children or my impression about you guys will never improve. it just might remain at rock bottom.”

ignoring the insulted reactions from the rest of the group, jungwoo stood up and gently nudged yukhei to follow him towards the main entrance. “come on, guys. let’s meet my sister.”

taeyong stood up as well, wearing the expression of the blank faced killer he was. “let’s go.” he said emotionlessly, already wearing a façade. doyoung and johnny can learn from him, in yukhei’s humble opinion.

“let’s go!” jungwoo repeated brightly, his words not matching the foreboding feeling that settled within the group.

jungwoo then latched himself on yukhei’s arm with the most adorable smile and marched them on the main entrance. yukhei, who felt extremely awkward with the sudden touch, did not push him away and tried not to think about it too much. he wasn’t really one to touch and be touched so naturally, but he didn’t find it in his heart to tell jungwoo this.

and he had to admit, it felt nice. to have jungwoo’s attention like this.

the warm feeling didn’t last long, however. as they neared the main entrance, yukhei could already see a glimpse of women in black through the windows.

“holy shit, she’s really here.” doyoung muttered from behind them. they all ignored him.

in his excitement, jungwoo then unceremoniously opened the doors, almost hitting yukhei in the face. “noona!” he exclaimed, breaking free from his hold of yukhei’s arm, then rushing to his sister.

irene looked every inch the ceo she was, clad in a black and white suit-dress hybrid. her heels looked too high to seem painless, and her beautiful face was made even more devastating with a touch of dark makeup. beside her was seulgi, dressed in light clothing—in fact, the whole of red velvet behind irene looked like they came from a job, dressed in the light black cotton uniform they wear during missions.

there wasn’t any blood on them. they looked pretty clean for a job, but they must have expected some sort of attack.

before he can ask, however, jungwoo was already hugging his sister with fierce determination. there was a laugh of delight from irene’s direction, and everyone stared as she smiled just as brightly and hugged her brother. “there’s my baby brother.” she said with so much love, it would have been sickening if everyone wasn’t downright shocked. 

yukhei had already watched a similar scene before, but he wasn’t prepared to see it again; he can only imagine what the others were thinking as they all watched the usually unsmiling scary demon queen laugh and hug her brother with so much affection. only red velvet watched them with small smiles, as if it was a sight they feel blessed to see almost every time. catching seulgi's gaze, yukhei winked at his cousin who only rolled her eyes fondly at him.

“yukhei.” irene said suddenly, nodding at him once in greeting. her face was blank once again and she didn’t even acknowledge the rest of his inner circle. “we have a few things to talk about.”

“of course.” yukhei said smoothly, a shit-eating grin on his face. he then motioned towards the general direction of the living room. “shall we?”

irene stepped into the house like she owned it, although the effect wasn’t as extreme as she held onto the arm of a really happy, practically bouncing jungwoo. despite the fear she strikes upon everyone including yukhei himself, yukhei was glad to see jungwoo this way; content and delighted as if he had everything he could need. it felt… fulfilling, for yukhei.

“please, do sit.” yukhei drawled unnecessarily, as irene was already making a move towards the couches. red velvet was professional as always, standing like shadows in the living room with faces that don’t give anything away. seulgi was the only female who looked comfortable and _normal_ , as she sat next to her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s brother.

“how are you, jungwoo?” irene asked, taking her brother’s hand and holding it carefully. she, seulgi, and yukhei were ignoring the very blatant staring of doyoung and johnny. times like this, yukhei is grateful that he had taeyong to save him some face.

“i’m actually doing great,” jungwoo started to say, only to get a wary look from his sister.

“how are these people treating you?” irene continued to ask, for the first time deigning to look at the rest of yukhei’s inner circle. taeyong, of course, held himself up well but yukhei could swear doyoung and johnny died on the spot. it was embarrassing.

“noona, don’t scare them.” jungwoo scolded, earning a disappointed sigh from his sister. “they’ve been really nice. they’re actually softies, and they’ve kept me company for the past three days.”

his sister nodded, although she didn’t look too convinced. “do you have additional requests? unfortunately, we’re not sure how long you will be staying here so you’ll have to settle in for now.” irene told him, eyebrows furrowed as opposed to the scarily blank face she wore all the time.

“i… don’t want to continue my ‘college’ learning here, if that’s okay.” jungwoo said, a bit sheepishly. irene was already nodding. “maybe… i can pick up a few skills, learn a couple of things. i can make a list or something.”

irene was turning to yukhei and raising her eyebrows before he could finish his sentence. “we can arrange something, of course.” yukhei told her. “mama suh and taeyong are already teaching him how to cook.”

“good.” irene commented, before turning to taeyong, who was hovering behind jungwoo silently. “i know you have been tasked to watch over my brother personally. thank you for taking care of him.” she said curtly, earning a big smile from jungwoo.

the blank mask taeyong was wearing slipped into something of surprise, as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “a-ah, it’s no problem.”

“now, for the updates.” irene said, turning back to yukhei with a serious expression on her face, as if she didn’t just fluster taeyong with her thanks. “we found out that there is indeed a mole among our board of trustees. as to who, we’re still working on that.”

“we discovered that one of the employees was getting paid to do deliveries back and forth the building for one of the people on the board but when we went to his apartment a while ago, he was already dead.” seulgi added, pulling out photos from her bag and handing them to her cousin.

impressed that they managed to find all of these out in just three days, yukhei accepted the photos. he was careful not to let jungwoo, who was beside him, see the gory display of the dead man as yukhei gazed impassively at the vivid color of blood and the sight of crooked bones. “his tongue has been cut, his head bashed in, his legs broken...” he observed quietly. “the jians?”

“yes, we thought the same thing.” seulgi agreed. “so we checked his body, and then we discovered a lotus mark on his ribcage.”

the lotus was the mark of the jians, a pretty flower to represent such a horrible family. “so one of the people from your board have been conspiring with the jians to kill you.” yukhei deduced, earning a nod from both seulgi and irene. “why?”

“we don’t know yet.” seulgi said, sounding a bit frustrated. “we also don’t know why they’re acting _now_ , out of all times.”

“which is another reason why we’re here.” irene said. “yukhei. have your people done something to piss them off so far?”

yukhei shook his head. “no. we tried our best to steer clear of them for years. even when they’re baiting us, we don’t engage.”

“then it could only be one thing isn’t it?” jungwoo suddenly observed, earning everyone’s full attention. he almost shied away from the attention, but he continued. “noona must have done something that the board member didn’t like, making them collaborate with your worst rival. it’s a win-win situation for both; noona would be dead, and the jians get to send a message to the white serpents about how they’re superior or whatever.”

despite having no evidence whether this was true or not, the analysis seemed about right. it was said so simply, so factually— and so _efficiently_ , in just a few concise sentences. it seemed as if jungwoo has been a part of this life for years now, instead of just being under their care for about three days.

it’s kinda hot, yukhei wasn’t gonna lie.

“now think about what you’ve done that could have possibly pissed one of the board members off.” junwoo continued as he looked at his sister. “narrow down that list. then maybe you can start from there.”

even seulgi looked stunned, glancing at her girlfriend in utter shock. “why didn’t we think of that?” she asked irene quietly, in mandarin.

irene was the only one who looked absolutely delighted about the situation, as if she didn’t piss a person off so much that they collaborated with the most horrible mafia.

“noona, stop smiling. someone literally wants to kill you.” jungwoo scolded, sounding a bit horrified.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry.” irene said, stifling her smile. “okay. we’ll go through the list later.”

“so what’s your next step?” yukhei asked. this seemed to wipe the smile off of irene’s face completely.

“all members are already under surveillance. we acquired copies of their call histories on their company phones, and while we might find nothing, we’ll check just to be sure. so far there’s nothing incriminating about them; our only lead was killed so we have to go back to square one.” irene told him, in utmost seriousness. “but with jungwoo’s idea, we have a better place to start.”

“noona…” jungwoo whined, when his sister smiled proudly at him again, her hand stroking his hair as if he’s still a little child. “focus.”

“right. that’s all we have, actually.” irene said. “we came here to just check up on my little brother, and to tell you that his stay seems a bit indefinite, with how slow our investigation is going.”

“it’s no problem.” yukhei told her. “jungwoo is a joy to everyone in this household.”

his statement surprised everyone, including himself. jungwoo was looking at him with his mouth parted prettily, and irene was giving him a look that he couldn’t read.

irene hummed impassively. yukhei wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, she never hummed at him before. he looked at seulgi, who gave nothing away.

the reaction was… strange, and yukhei made a mental note not to say things like that anymore.

before it could develop into a large awkward silence, yukhei was standing up. “we’ll leave you alone to catch up.” he said, as he made a move to leave. doyoung and johnny followed suit.

irene nodded at him dismissively, while jungwoo turned to look at taeyong. “hyung, do you want to join us?”

the look in taeyong’s eyes was one of surprise. irene looked at him blankly, not inviting but not saying no either. seeing the slight nod that seulgi made to him, taeyong mimicked the action. 

“okay.”

without looking back, yukhei headed straight towards the kitchen.


	7. Chapter 7

**jungwoo**

the weirdest thing that came out of his noona’s visit was her newfound friendship with taeyong.

joohyun had talked to taeyong like they were long-time friends. it shouldn’t have come off as a surprise to jungwoo, but it did; after all, his sister had a history of having a choice few people she was pleasant with. jungwoo had a feeling that his sister and taeyong’s sudden friendship must have something to do with the fact that taeyong will be sticking by his side for the whole duration of his stay here.

still, it was pretty weird; joohyun got along with taeyong perfectly, and it says a lot about how jungwoo’s older sister can be if she only tried to be nicer to people.

after they had caught up with each other, joohyun had asked for the other serpents to join them in order to discuss jungwoo’s agenda for the rest of his stay. of course, she went back to her demon queen persona—and while this seemed to freak out doyoung and johnny, they all managed to efficiently create a whole weekly schedule for jungwoo’s lessons.

the gym, which was initially off-limits, was now open to jungwoo. that, and the indoor training ground they have at the east building, which was were the inner circle brushed up on their techniques in private.

(the swimming pool and the garden were still off-limits, however, but jungwoo wasn’t going to push his luck.)

despite his older sister’s initial disapproval, jungwoo was also allowed to train with the new recruits. johnny, taeyong, and ten were tasked to handle his lessons—from the most mundane such as cooking and driving, to the more complicated ones such as martial arts and self-defense.

“if i see bruises on jungwoo’s skin the next time i visit,” irene had announced right before she left, hardly blinking as she eyed the serpents who accompanied her to the door, “there will be hell to pay for the people responsible. got it?”

“noona.” jungwoo groaned, embarrassed as he pushed her out. “thank you for coming i love you!”

the threat, of course, struck something among the serpents’ as they visibly backed away from jungwoo when he approached them the second they heard the car roll out of the driveway.

“good luck johnny, taeyong.” doyoung had said solemnly, as if they were virgin sacrifices about to be slaughtered in a satanic ritual held by jungwoo’s sister. it would have been funny, if the serpents didn’t look so serious. “godspeed.”

taeyong, who was less scared of irene now, didn’t look too troubled but johnny looked like he was about to shit his pants.

“i think it’s best if you join all the training sessions with the new recruits, taeyong.” johnny told the younger with the wince. “i’d rather you give the bruises than some poor recruit. or me, to be fucking honest.”

taeyong was already nodding. “i’ll be gentle, anyways.”

“oh come on, you guys are being ridiculous. how am i going to learn properly if i don’t have bruises?” jungwoo asked a bit desperately, only to be ignored as they all shared a look of understanding.

\---

the week after that felt extremely long and busy ~~and _bad_~~ , and it had everything to do with the fact that he really really lacked exercise. or discipline for the fighting shit he signed up for.

the hours spent training were such hell, jungwoo would constantly feel like he was about to drop dead every second of every day. he wasn’t even overreacting; his body hurt everywhere, all the fucking time. barely into the third day of his training, he almost couldn’t get out of bed only to be dragged out by a very sympathetic taeyong for his classes.

every morning, he would join the recruits with the ‘warm-up exercises’ ~~from hell~~ that stretched and exerted his body to a little over his limit. then in the afternoon, he’d go into ‘classes’ with ten or johnny. johnny made sure jungwoo learned the basics, while ten helped him perfect johnny’s lessons and taught more complicated techniques—which was the only thing that made jungwoo’s training more advanced than the new recruits.

he’s the most tired under johnny’s instruction. after all, johnny was in charge of the morning exercises and some of the martial arts classes. but more than that, johnny was nitpicky and was very strict with form—there wasn’t even any sympathy for jungwoo, and he hasn’t done this for as long as the other recruits have.

of course, there were moments where jungwoo would make a mistake and johnny would be a complete asshole, pausing to laugh his ass off instead of continuing the lesson. it was straight up bullying, which jungwoo doesn’t tolerate by slapping his ‘teacher’ every now and then.

“you can’t hit me, i am your teacher!” johnny yelled at him the first time, which made the nearby recruits jump in fear as they ran through their drills around the large space of the backyard. what should have been a harsh scolding was dampened by the shit-eating grin on johnny’s face, which only made jungwoo slap him harder on the shoulder.

“stop it, kids.” taeyong had scolded, seeming very much like an aggrieved mother as both his fingers rubbed his temples. jungwoo would have been insulted, if he wasn’t busy enjoying the reactions from the recruits who looked like their worlds were turned over seeing their strict boss cackle like an idiot around jungwoo.

with the constant bickering, johnny’s lessons were… eventful. but the lessons that jungwoo loved the most were ten’s.

just as how they first met, ten was serious—but it also turned out, he was equal parts chaotic. his personality was a lovely mix of both, but jungwoo had this strange feeling that he was being molded into the weapon everyone thought he was—even if it wasn’t ten’s intention.

with taeyong constantly there to guide him as well, jungwoo had a small guilty feeling of getting way more than he asked for. he expected basic lessons so he can fend for himself, not expert training that could make him pick fights and win if it suits him.

jungwoo didn’t know what to feel about this. he wasn’t going to complain, though.

as for the warnings from the other members of the inner circle about taeyong and ten’s pda, they were duly noted. taeyong seemed to bring out the more chaotic side of ten, who otherwise seemed serious and reliable.

“i missed you, baby.” ten had greeted taeyong during jungwoo’s first session with him, ignoring jungwoo completely as he proceeded to kiss his boyfriend in a way that should have been private.

and that wasn’t the worst of it. there were some sessions where jungwoo had to run immediately out of the training area after he was dismissed, before he could scar his eyes any further.

other than that, ten was a good teacher. a 4/5, in jungwoo’s humble opinion, as he took one point of ten’s rating for the trauma he received from the couple’s blatant show of affection.

despite the disgusting amount of pda, however, the couple worked extremely well together. something like soulmates.

“in muay thai, you learn to use your legs, elbows, and hands as weapons at your disposal.” ten explained, a couple of days in. “our fighting style is a mix of all forms of martial arts, as johnny already showed you, but i personally keep the ideals of muay thai at the heart of my techniques.”

ten continued to explain as he motioned to his boyfriend to demonstrate. jungwoo watched in awe; it was the first time since lessons started that he got to see taeyong actually _fight_ —and with his boyfriend.

then the two started to dance. fight didn’t even seem like the right word; jungwoo was mesmerized, as he watched the two fluidly move around each other. each movement seemed nothing but the jerk of muscle memory and it excited jungwoo, watching them pull some kill bill shit in front of his very eyes. 

ten was more precise and smart with his movements, but taeyong was absolutely quick and graceful; always almost delivering a killing blow, if ten wasn’t so smart to block it with his own style.

it ended too quickly, as it was supposedly just a demonstration. but jungwoo could only stare, mouth open as the other two stared expectantly at him, barely out of breath.

“got it?” ten asked, smirking at the look on jungwoo’s face. taeyong was laughing quietly beside him, shaking his head when he saw the expression jungwoo was wearing.

“what the fuck?” jungwoo replied intelligently, not answering the question. “that was so fast?”

“but you see it, right? how the techniques can be applied?”

“you do know i’ve been learning this for just _days_. five, to be exact.” jungwoo continued, eyebrows furrowed at his teacher. “if you think i can be just as fast in a short amount of time, you’re very very wrong. and super ambitious. i love the confidence, but it’s a no for me.”

“taeyong got a hold of things after two weeks with his stay with us, and then he developed his own style after that.” ten replied with a shrug, although jungwoo did not mistake the pride in his tone. “he was almost as good as everyone after a month, and now he’s our best fighter.”

“well he must have had trained eight to twelve hours a day _for months_ like the other recruits. and hyung is unfairly brilliant at whatever he does.” jungwoo rebutted. taeyong blushed lightly at this, seemingly wanting to protest, but even ten was nodding in agreement beside his boyfriend.

“okay, fair. but since this is all you’re going to be doing during your whole stay, i don’t see why you can’t have the same progress.”

“you have such high, high hopes for me hyung.” jungwoo said dramatically. his mind flashes to his progress for the past few days and while it was significant in amount, it didn’t seem even close to what he just saw.

_well, it’s unfair comparing myself to seasoned fighters who have done this for years now_ , the more rational side of him reasoned.

still, the irrational part of jungwoo wanted to up his game just so he can immediately be on their level. he had a feeling this was the mindset ten wanted him to have, when he demonstrated his skills. “alright,” he said gamely, “run that by me again?”

\---

by the end of the week, the pain his body endured was much less than it had been—although it was painful still. jungwoo was working up the courage to ask his sister if he can try to learn how to shoot, but he decided to ask for those lessons in the later parts of his stay since he discovered it was all about arm strength and he really didn’t want any additional pain until his body got used to his current training. 

he had expected to see less of the inner circle since his classes started, but surprisingly, they seemed to pop up randomly in the gym to watch him train. or to join in, sometimes.

what’s weirder still, is that yukhei was the most frequent visitor.

yukhei never stayed for more than ten minutes to talk to jungwoo, usually before the sessions start or after they have ended, but he checked up on the kim-bae almost every day. he didn’t even seem to be really interested with jungwoo’s lessons; he asked about that part vaguely, their conversations filled with more seemingly random topics.

jungwoo had to admit, yukhei was talented in drawing information without sharing himself. it was something he observed on the third day he checked up on the kim-bae; yukhei’s words were natural in their delivery, but said in a way that didn’t reveal anything about him while coaxing the other to keep sharing. 

the information was harmless enough—jungwoo’s favorites, his hobbies, what he did that day—but the kim-bae can easily imagine how it can be used in a more dangerous setting.

jungwoo knew it was mainly because joohyun was constantly asking yukhei about his progress, but yukhei seemed genuine enough in wanting to know all these so he didn’t really mind. yukhei didn’t even have to ask jungwoo personally, since taeyong and ten were constantly there to supervise—so it felt nice.

it was saturday when he met yukhei again. he only had one afternoon class that day, as the recruits did shooting lessons in the morning and he wasn’t allowed to hold a gun.

yet.

after getting abruptly kicked out of the training room for another one of taeyong and ten’s impromptu makeout sessions, jungwoo found himself rushing behind a very familiar back.

“oh, yukhei!” jungwoo greeted, slowing down from his desperate half-run. a week has passed, and despite being closer to the leader of the white serpents, jungwoo didn’t think he was quite comfortable with calling yukhei _xuxi_ yet.

but they were significantly closer. maybe not as close as jungwoo was with the rest of his inner circle, but close enough.

“hi, hyung.” yukhei greeted, pausing briefly so jungwoo can catch up to him. he looked unfairly handsome as always, wearing only a simple pair of sweatpants and a shirt. if jungwoo didn’t know any better, he almost looked like a popular college kid who just got out of class. “why were you running?”

jungwoo made a face as he remembered the scene he just left. “i just finished training with ten.”

“ah.” yukhei hummed in understanding, mouth quirking in amusement. “i’m so sorry.”

jungwoo winced in disgust and turned to look at yukhei only to find the other already looking at him with something like intense exasperation. then they burst out laughing over their shared agony.

jungwoo felt warm all over, with the fading afternoon light pouring from the large french windows and into the floorboards of the hall. it almost felt like a scene from a movie, especially surreal with the gorgeous man laughing beside him.

_what genre would my movie be?_ jungwoo found himself pondering. then he realized his situation—a rich boy hidden within a mafia estate because some people hated his sister very very much—and his mood soured.

_well_ , _it’s definitely not a rom-com_.

jungwoo almost said ‘shut the fuck up’ out loud, but restrained himself. instead, he turned to yukhei. “where are you going now?”

the laughter hasn’t quite faded from yukhei’s eyes when the serpent turned to look at him, and it almost made jungwoo catch his breath. yukhei was much more handsome with the carefree glint in his eyes and the smile that won’t seem to fade any time soon.

jungwoo found himself wanting to keep them there. he found himself wanting to be the reason. he found himself wanting—

_no_ , jungwoo thought in despair as he stared at the boy in front of him. these are dangerous thoughts.

“i have a video conference with our people from china and japan later.” the serpent shared, looking down at his feet. their walking pace was slow now, as if both of them were prolonging their parting.

that, or jungwoo was just projecting.

“what time?” jungwoo asked, making yukhei look up from his lashes. jungwoo forced his hands not to shake at his sides because _wow, god really took his time in making yukhei_.

“around nine.” yukhei answered. “i was planning an early dinner before retreating to my office.”

jungwoo then had an idea. he glanced at his watch and saw that it was a little over seven—they had time.

maybe it’s a bad idea and jungwoo should think this through. there must be a reason why they aren’t as close, and that must be because he should keep his distance.

but as jungwoo stared at yukhei, who looked soft and kind and not at all dangerous, he realized he doesn’t really care. jungwoo likes pretty things, and he’s not going to deny himself the pleasure of having this one by his side.

no matter how dangerous.

“alright,” jungwoo said brightly, before grabbing yukhei’s wrist. “you’re coming to the kitchen with me. let’s make you some dinner.”

-

to his credit, yukhei did not complain as jungwoo dragged him to the kitchen. he seemed a bit amused, even, as he trailed behind the kim-bae.

“mama suh!” jungwoo called out, as they finally went inside the kitchen. “yukhei’s having an early dinner because he has a meeting at nine. we’ll help you prepare!”

jungwoo tried to ignore the weird feeling he got as the other people in the kitchen bowed towards yukhei when they entered, and went straight to johnny’s mom—who also seemed to just arrive, tying her apron around her waist as she shuffled towards the two boys.

mama suh pointedly eyed the hand around yukhei’s wrist with a smirk, making jungwoo retract his touch immediately. “oh fuck,” jungwoo muttered in dawning horror as he looked at yukhei. “i’m so sorry!”

yukhei opened his mouth, about to say something, when mama suh interjected. “don’t worry about it, dear. xuxi’s a very touchy person himself.”

the statement made both jungwoo and yukhei blush, although jungwoo wasn’t exactly sure why. mama suh just laughed at this. “what do you want to eat, dear?” she asked yukhei, thankfully changing the subject.

“you know what? galbitang sounds nice.” yukhei answered almost immediately, a teasing lilt to his vowels. this drew an offended gasp from jungwoo.

“hey!” jungwoo exclaimed in mock outrage. “it turned out alright!”

“xuxi, don’t tease.” mama suh scolded, although she was smirking as well. jungwoo had never felt so betrayed. “how about kimchi jjigae?”

yukhei caught jungwoo’s pleading gaze and laughed, before nodding at mama suh.

the kim-bae knew his way around the kitchen by now, as he went and retrieved two aprons before handing one to yukhei and putting the other on himself.

“you’ll be taking the food to your office?” mama suh asked, looking at yukhei. the leader considered it for a moment, his eyes settling on jungwoo for a quick second, before nodding.

jungwoo felt a bit disappointed. he thought he would be eating with yukhei.

“what about you, jungwoo?” mama suh asked.

the question caught him off-guard, as his plan to eat with yuhkei has been derailed. “i, uh—”

“you’re joining me, right?” yukhei interrupted, frowning.

jungwoo tried not to let his relief show. he barely registered the shock on mama suh’s face, as she stared at the other two boys. “is it okay? we can eat here.”

“i don’t feel like listening to much noise right now.” yukhei explained. jungwoo noted the state of the kitchen, which was still quite loud in its bustle despite the staff’s relative silence, and internally agreed with yukhei.

“as long as you’re sure we’re not going to make a mess of your office.” jungwoo said casually, a little too pleased that he’s getting to spend time with yukhei. “it might end up smelling like food.”

“i don’t mind.”

they both turn to mama suh readily, who was still observing them. jungwoo wasn’t quite sure what to make of the glee in her eyes. “okay. let’s get started.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello. i don’t quite remember when i last updated lol i’m so sorry i’ve just been reading a lot and working on other things (yoonkook fic + meixko fic from love o2o but i don’t think i’ll be posting it any time soon). 
> 
> also, if u must know, i don’t usually work on chapters sequentially. i usually just get inspired by prompts that work for this au then i write. right now, i used up one of my three finished chapters and added it here. i also wrote a little thingy about seulgi and irene’s first meeting. don’t worry, once i figured things out, everything would flow smoothly from there. 
> 
> don’t tell me i’m a mess, i already know lol. i wasn’t lying when i wrote the ‘we just die’ tag. 
> 
> anyway, enjoy!

**jungwoo**

looking at yukhei now, he couldn’t believe that this was the same cocky dangerous _serpent_ that jungwoo saw in that private room inside the bar. 

he wouldn’t have thought he would see yukhei balancing two lunchboxes on both hands, looking much less like the boss of a mafia and more like a college kid bringing back food inside his dorm room.

jungwoo held the doors of yukhei’s office open, thoroughly endeared as he watched yukhei stare at the lunchboxes as if he could prevent them from falling from the sheer force of his will. there was a mumble of thanks as yukhei led them to the couch in front of his desk, settling the food on top of the coffee table.

yukhei’s office was very reminiscent of yukhei’s serpent persona. everything’s so… sexy and professional.

underneath the dim lighting, there were leather couches facing the desk and a decent-sized coffee table nearer to the door—for meetings with the inner circle, jungwoo assumed. on the far end was a large modern-looking swivel chair behind a huge mahogany table. there were heavy velvet drapes on the whole of the room’s right side, covering what must be large windows.

jungwoo looked between the furniture and the kid who looked like he walked straight of night classes in front of him, trying not to smile.

they were silent for a while, laying out the food properly in front of them. the effort of bringing all the food to yukhei’s office was a little too much, it would have been better to just have stayed in the dining room, but yukhei seemed adamant in bringing jungwoo to his office.

a small part of jungwoo realized that this might be yukhei’s way of getting him alone to know him better, without the rest of the serpents running into them. yukhei must be shy, not wanting people to think the wrong idea.

_but bringing me here might also give the others the wrong idea_ , he thought, remembering how mama suh stared at them as they left the kitchen. he’s not sure why yukhei wanted him there, but he oddly feels okay about it.

“let’s eat.” yukhei coaxed, breaking him out of his thoughts before they both dug into the food they helped prepare. 

“no offense, but i think mama suh was right when she said we should have eaten at the dining room.” jungwoo said, wincing as a drop of soup fell on the glass surface of the coffee table.

yukhei carelessly wiped at it with a piece of tissue. “it’s fine. i just wanted to know how you’re doing, without having to steal your attention away from the rest of the boys.”

jungwoo almost blushed. if yukhei wasn’t careful, jungwoo might assume that the serpent wanted jungwoo all to himself. “yukhei. you ask me how i am every day.”

yukhei shrugged, although his ears went a bit red at this. “you just tell me you’re _fine_ and then you don’t tell me why.”

“i always tell you what i’m up to.” jungwoo protested, his heart flipping at the thought of a cute boy who genuinely cares about how he’s doing—and it’s dangerous, how easily his brain can oversimplify and think like this. “and isn’t taeyong hyung constantly reporting to you?”

“look, i’m brave enough to admit that your sister still scares me sometimes.” yukhei pointed out. “i just might piss my pants if she asks about you and i just tell her that you’re doing ‘fine’. she’d stab me with her montblanc.”

jungwoo burst out laughing at the sudden image of his sister stabbing yukhei with her ever-present montblanc pen, which quickly turned into coughs as his food almost went down the wrong trajectory. “you asshole,” he wheezed, accepting the cup of water and glaring at the smug little smile on yukhei’s mouth. he drank a bit before facing the serpent fully. “she already knows everything. taeyong texts her a lot, and she calls me every night.”

“that’s good then.” yukhei replied, looking slightly relieved. “i don’t have to worry about that.”

“yeah. we really should have eaten in the dining room.” jungwoo concluded. “jesus. why did we carry all these here? how did we manage?”

“well, i didn’t bring you here just to ask how you are.” yukhei said suddenly, making jungwoo raise an eyebrow at him. “i mean, yeah, that’s one of the reasons. but if i’m being completely honest, i’m also quite jealous. my most trusted men are absolutely in love with you, and i want to know why.”

jungwoo almost choked at this, thankful that he didn’t. “wha—in love? don’t be ridiculous.” he snorted, trying not to blush as he quickly stuffed another piece of meat inside his mouth and chewed. his gaze found its way to yukhei, who was staring at him already, and it was. a lot.

he found himself sweating; he was once again reminded how overwhelming it was, being the target of yukhei’s undivided attention. jungwoo _really_ wished they ate at the dining room. 

“i just treat them like normal people, and i never give in to their bullshit. that’s why they like me.” jungwoo said, after swallowing his food slowly.

yukhei hummed, chewing his food thoughtfully. his eyes never left jungwoo as he swallowed, and jungwoo had to force himself not to follow the action.

“but you do understand we’re not normal, right?” yukhei asked in a quiet voice. the tone he used was too careful, as if he’s about to approach a topic that he doesn’t want to scare jungwoo off with.

“hmm?”

“we’re not… normal, hyung.” yukhei continued carefully, looking like he didn’t want to say what he’s about to say but had to say it anyways. “you have to know that there is blood on our hands. we’re not friends with the law and. well. it’s a bit complicated. we—”

“yukhei, stop. i’m not blind.” jungwoo gently interrupted, knowing where this is heading. this wasn’t the first time he had this conversation. “i know you’re afraid that i don’t see it. but you also forget, i am my sister’s brother so i know. i see you, all of you, despite what you refuse to show me. what you have done and what you are doing doesn’t make you any less deserving of my friendship.”

yukhei’s inner circle already attempted this talk with him in the past week so he already knows what yukhei was about to say. jungwoo thought he should have been offended, but he wasn’t exactly displaying an intellectual character so he couldn’t really blame them.

yukhei looked absolutely shocked at the interruption, but his expression quickly softened. “you sound so tired from this conversation already.” yukhei observed. “i’m sorry for bringing it up.”

“no, it’s fine. i completely understand the concern.” jungwoo told him. “but despite my circumstances, i am not some ignorant maiden who needs protecting from the evils of this world. i know it’s not that simple; i’m smart enough to fear for my situation. but i also understand that i could not have been in better hands. there are many evils of this world, yukhei, but none of the people here are a part of it.”

the serpent beside him suddenly looked extremely doubtful that it made jungwoo sigh. “okay, sure, you sell drugs and do illegal shit. i’m 90% sure you kill people, of course, and around 60% sure you torture some.” jungwoo pointed out. “but like i said before, you have values. you’re not totally evil— you’re, like, chaotic good. you do things because it’s necessary, because you have a family to look out for. i respect that.

“and there will come a day when i’ll finally see what you do beyond these walls. it won’t change my opinion, because i already saw what’s important; i saw the real versions of you all behind these closed doors and that’s enough.”

the silence that followed was heavy. jungwoo waited for yukhei to say something, as he watched the expression on the serpent’s face change from shock into something unreadable. recently, he got used to seeing yukhei wear his emotions so openly that this was a bit disconcerting.

it was also concerning how jungwoo couldn’t tell what he was thinking. he was a master at reading people, an expert in decoding their thoughts through body language and expressions. jungwoo wasn’t so sure why he couldn’t read yukhei now.

“so,” jungwoo rambled on, trying to fill up the silence, “you can really stop trying to convince me that you guys are actually evil. my sister also turned out to be secretly gangster and i don’t love her any less.”

jungwoo abruptly stopped, physically straining himself from rambling some more because he knew he made his point. whatever he said seemed to work, however, because the expression he couldn’t read on yukhei’s face melted into something a bit fond and amused.

he wasn’t quite smiling, but his eyes looked warm as they trailed along jungwoo’s facial features. it almost seemed like he was memorizing what jungwoo looked like, and jungwoo…

well, he didn’t know what to do with this information.

_weren’t we eating? we should be eating._

jungwoo was going to pretend the conversation never happened and began to turn to his food when he suddenly heard yukhei say, “xuxi.”

the word made jungwoo physically startle. it was said so softly, jungwoo wasn’t sure if he imagined it. “sorry—what?” he asked, turning to face yukhei.

“call me xuxi.” yukhei said, face breaking into a small smile. he held jungwoo’s gaze and jungwoo wondered if he could hear how hard jungwoo’s heart was beating. “i understand now.”

jungwoo was struck dumb, heart pumping loud. his brain was short-circuiting, overwhelmed by the smile the serpent was sending his way. “wha—understand what?”

“why my inner circle is absolutely in love with you.” yukhei said, smiling so brilliantly that it highlighted every good-looking feature on his face. “i understand now.” he repeated.

jungwoo almost dropped ~~dead~~ his spoon, the back of his neck sweating. he pretended that the handsome smiling man in front of him did nothing to affect his very gay ass.

_oh no,_ he thought miserably, heart seemingly wanting to jump off of his chest. from the look yukhei was giving him, jungwoo must have said the right thing sometime during his rambling. but while he’s extremely pleased with this, he doesn’t quite know what to do with yukhei leaning slightly towards him looking a very satisfied god of seduction.

it was devastating to have yukhei’s whole attention on him, that it’s making him have heart palpitations. for the first time since they met, yukhei looked like he actually trusts jungwoo.

and ain’t that something. a mafia leader, trusting this very sheltered, very gay polsci student.

jungwoo kinda wanted to die.

“are you okay hyung?” yukhei asked, smirking like he _knows_ jungwoo was gay panicking. “your face is red.”

jungwoo wasn’t a violent person. but with the way yukhei was looking at him, he suddenly had the urge to punch the nearest wall and scream.

_or yukhei can punch you_ , his brain provided helpfully, _and make_ you _scream—_

“xuxi.” jungwoo blurted out to stop thinking inappropriate thoughts. then he panicked, because it only made yukhei stare at him harder.

yukhei smirked— _he’s doing that a lot whyishedoingthatimdying_ — as his face inched closer to jungwoo. “yes, hyung?”

“sorry, just—testing it out.” he said, willing himself not to look extremely flustered. he wanted to slap himself or maybe bash his head on the nearest wall.

jungwoo honestly thought he was smarter than this…this _blubbering mess_. but then a cute boy smirks (!!!) at him, and his brain suddenly decides not to work.

“well,” yukhei finally said, finally saving jungwoo from more embarrassment as he leaned back. “i think it’s weird that you’ve seen me in my house clothes already and not call me xuxi. you’re also already so close with my inner circle so i think it’s only fair.”

“yes, of course.” jungwoo said, trying to calm the fuck down. thankfully, he’s much less flustered now that yukhei has finally leaned back and has given jungwoo more breathing space. “and anyway, we’re friends. right?”

yukhei seemed to pause at this, before shooting jungwoo another unreadable expression. “yes, friends.”

before jungwoo could decipher the look, or at least _try_ since he couldn’t really understand what the hell was going on, yukhei was already checking his watch.

“is your meeting about to start?” jungwoo asked.

“no, we have about an hour.” yukhei told him, before shooting him a sunny smile. “so i know this is really random, but i really wanted to know.”

“know what?”

“why did you choose political science?”

the sudden change of topic was welcome, a nice reprise from the little weird moment they just had. jungwoo playfully glared at yukhei. “why? do you have a problem?”

yukhei raised his hands in surrender. “hey, i asked nicely! i’m genuinely curious. don’t worry i won’t judge.”

“well, i’m a people person and politics is kinda… everywhere, you know?” a pause. “i don’t want to sound like a nerd.”

“you don’t.” yukhei replied so readily, sounding sincere. “there’s nothing wrong with it especially if it makes you feel passionate.”

jungwoo’s ears felt oddly warm. “yeah—yeah, you’re right.”

“and you’re not wrong.” yukhei continued, shrugged nonchalantly. then there was a small smirk on his face again and jungwoo had the strong urge to kiss it off. “politics is everywhere. companies, organizations… even mafias.”

determined not to get distracted, jungwoo picked off where he left. “i mean, we’ve been learning mostly about the government of course but the structures and the dynamics are ultimately the same. it’s not that i’m a manipulative person or anything, i just wanted to understand power just so i won’t fall victim to it. I also considered taking up law after.”

yukhei perked up at this. “oh?”

“i had plans to help out the family business. i couldn’t just keep leeching off my sister and the company. of course, we have better lawyers but there wouldn’t be an issue of trust if it was me who helped out in legal matters.” jungwoo said thoughtfully. “although i wasn’t sure if they’d let me go back here in seoul for law school. i was just holding onto the hope that they would… i don’t know. soften up and allow me to go back home?”

for a horrible moment, his voice cracked. jungwoo ignored the look of alarm on yukhei’s face.

“ah, well. it’s all in the past.” jungwoo continued, before yukhei could ask whether he’s okay or not. he wouldn’t know how to answer. “i don’t have any more plans on becoming a lawyer. i don’t think i want it as much, anymore.”

yukhei, thankfully, didn’t push the issue further. “that’s cool. you don’t have to figure things out now.”

“i guess.” jungwoo said, frowning. “i’m not even sure why i’m learning how to fight. at least I have the financial security to not worry about having a job.”

“and if sm holdings goes bankrupt?” yukhei asked jokingly.

jungwoo snorted. “if the company goes bankrupt, i’ll just be jaehyun’s sugar baby. I already have elaborate plans. i’d know how to act like a trophy wife, it shouldn’t be hard.”

the kim-bae grinned at yukhei, then faltered. he did not expect to see an unsmiling yukhei.

not for the first time that night, yukhei’s expression shuts down and jungwoo finds himself unable to read it. “why jaehyun?” yukhei asked, voice devoid of any emotion.

jungwoo tried not to read into the tone—he couldn’t anyways, even if he tried. “you all are rich, but he does business. he knows how to manage his finances.” he tried to joke.

it was as if a weird, cold air blew inside the office. jungwoo, for his amazing ability to perceive situations, couldn’t tell what was happening. _is yukhei jealous?_ he wondered, eyeing the serpent. _that can’t be._

it’s either that, or he has an issue with jaehyun—which also doesn’t make sense. jaehyun was a part of the inner circle, and they seemed fine? but then again jungwoo arrived at the estate a few weeks ago, so it might be an issue from way before.

yukhei was giving nothing away and jungwoo was once again reminded that yukhei was the boss of a mafia, with skills that could hold himself well in front of the most dangerous people. jungwoo wasn’t quite sure why yukhei was acting that way to _him_ , though. it’s as if they went back to square one.

before yukhei does something weird like kick him out of his office for mentioning jaehyun, jungwoo decided to change the subject. “if jaehyung says no, though, i also have plan c.” he said.

yukhei relaxed infinitesimally. “oh? and that is…?”

jungwoo dramatically waited for a beat before calmy saying, “to become an exotic dancer in one of your clubs.”

just like that, the weird atmosphere dissolved. “hyung!” yukhei protested, choking on the word.

jungwoo calmly grabbed his glass of water and sipped. “I don’t see the problem? i have the skills. i took pole dancing during my summer breaks when college started.”

yukhei was blushing. jungwoo just made the big bad white serpent _blush_. “you really want your sister to kill me, huh.” he mumbled, shaking his head.

“deserve.”

\--

after their dinner in yukhei’s office, jungwoo’s week went by pretty much the same. jungwoo continued his lessons, enduring the pain with the hope that one day his body will get used to it. he took fighting classes, learned how to cook more dishes, and improved his non-existent driving skills.

his parents (well, dad and stepmom) who had been seoul for a while, still didn’t visit him in the estate. last jungwoo heard of them was when his sister said they would be back after their short business trip in japan—but that was about two weeks ago, when he first arrived.

it wasn’t anything new, not really. but it still hurt.

they must have realized that jungwoo was in safe hands with the mafia and didn’t bother to rush over as promised. they didn’t even bother to contact him or anything. jungwoo didn’t expect anything from his stepmom but it would have been nice to be acknowledged by his dad.

the only noticeable change that week from the week before was that he was definitely a lot closer to yukhei. 

although both yukhei and ten seemed busier, busy enough that taeyong sometimes had to take over ten’s session, yukhei still made sure to check up on jungwoo despite already knowing that taeyong updated joohyun personally. he also got jungwoo’s number, so they could text.

(most of the texts were just random photos of inanimate objects, followed by really funny descriptions of how the inanimate object offended yukhei that day. it did not take jungwoo long to realize yukhei was not any less of a dumb ass as the rest of his inner circle.)

as for the inner circle, they crashed less into the rookie sessions, seemingly busy with something else as well. jungwoo would only see johnny and taeyong every day, the rest hardly showing up in the estate.

it was well into wednesday when jungwoo finally mustered the courage to ask his sister if he was allowed to learn how to shoot.

“i don’t see why you feel the need to learn this.” joohyun said through the phone, sounding wary after hearing jungwoo’s long and very factual arguments as to why he should be given the chance to acquire this particular skill.

jungwoo intentionally let out one of his rare disappointed sighs, knowing that it would make his sister feel bad.

“but i also don’t see why you can’t learn.” joohyun amended quickly. jungwoo knew he was playing dirty, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

among many valid reasons, he had lost dreams of being one of charlie’s angels—and what kind of angel does not know how to shoot a gun? jungwoo will do anything in his power to achieve this.

“you should know it’s not that easy, woo.” joohyun told him gently. “it’s going to actually hurt. the recoil might bruise and your ears might hurt—don’t sigh at me, i’m not going to stop you, but you have to know the dangers of shooting before you attempt it.”

“i know. and i know i’m in really really safe hands; the white serpents would do anything to protect me. but with everything happening, i just don’t want to be like the stupid pretty girls in those action movies—you know, the one who just screams when someone abducts them and does nothing to help the main character when she could literally just pick up the nearest object and hit the bad guys with it?”

“woo, you know i don’t watch action movies.”

jungwoo made a disappointed noise. his sister wouldn’t understand, of course; she was the type to fight tooth and nail if someone abducts her. and that is if they could even abduct someone like her—they could try. “never mind. the point is, i’m in this life now. people are out to get you, and if they discover that i’m here in seoul they’ll target me first. i don’t want to die.”

there was a sharp inhale from the other end of the line. “no one is going to die.” joohyun said coldly.

“you’re right—but only if i learn how to shoot.”

after a few more minutes of joohyun worrying and jungwoo reassuring her that he’d be fine, she finally. that thursday, ten finally agreed to teach him how to shoot after his boyfriend told him that joohyun agreed to it.

“you can join the new recruits this saturday.” ten said. “but if you don’t want to embarrass yourself, i can start teaching you now.”

“seriously?” jungwoo asked, surprised. he stood up from the gym mat he was sitting on inside the training room. “okay, let’s go!”

ten looked amused as he watched jungwoo practically vibrate with excitement, before his eyes flitted to taeyong. it was fast but jungwoo caught it. “we won’t be needing taeyong for this.”

jungwoo raised his eyebrows at taeyong, who was unsmiling. “alright. are you a bad shot, hyung?”

taeyong tried to smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. the reaction took jungwoo aback; he was so used to being so carefree around him that this was new and unsettling. “something like that.” taeyong said, and it felt like an admittance.

there was a story, obviously, but jungwoo knew better to push. he can wait weeks, months, even years.

“we’ll be in the shooting range.” ten said, pressing a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek. “text me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jungwoo didn’t forget that his parents were supposedly back in seoul days ago, but this author did LAKSDGLSFJG i was not lying when i wrote the “we just die” tag. 
> 
> follow me on twitter: [@antonia_tingz](https://twitter.com/antonia_tingz)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when i posted chapter eight i checked my last update and apparently it’s been 29 days since i posted chapter seven, so basically a month. i did nothing but read 2ha and work on other fics i had on my drive during that time, i’m so sorry. 
> 
> this chapter is only pretty good bc the gun scene was one of the first that i wrote from way back, one of the finished chapters i had ready. i just edited and added some parts to make it longer. 
> 
> i hope you like it! please, stay safe and don’t go out unless necessary to help our frontliners

**lucas**

it was when yukhei closed his office door behind jungwoo’s retreating back that he knew.

wong yukhei, the renowned leader of the most powerful family within the underbelly of south korea, was catching feelings for kim jungwoo, who hardly even flirted with him.

this newfound information was unforgiving and relentless, not caring that he had a meeting before that. he was distracted as kun and yuta updated him about their dealings in china and japan, thankful that there weren’t any problems and that he hardly needed to speak. otherwise, it would have been embarrassing.

his feelings for jungwoo, after all, were not supposed to exist. as the leader of the white serpents who’s also a closeted pansexual man, these feelings were scary for multiple reasons.

one, everyone in the estate assumed he was straight and as much as he loved his family he didn’t know how’d they react. yukhei was secretly afraid he just might cry in front of them and he wasn’t supposed to be vulnerable—he had to be strong and constantly composed as their leader. and even though it’s probably irrational, since he knew his family would love him anyways, the fear was very much there.

two, jungwoo was a kim-bae and Irene’s Beloved Brother™️. these titles bore a really heavy weight. while yukhei could maybe be considered a part of the elite society, kim jungwoo was a whole different league. sure, the kim-bae may not think this way because he had a relatively normal upbringing and grew up in a humble environment, but he belonged to the top of the food chain. he was practically untouchable.

three, kim jungwoo was ultimately a _job_. it might seem harsh, but it was true; the kim-bae was supposed to be under the mafia’s protection so while they might get really friendly with him, he’s still their responsibility. mainly, yukhei’s responsibility. if he was to pursue jungwoo… things won’t go well for the kim-bae and more people would go after him.

and irene didn’t pay them thirty billion won for him to catch feelings.

these three summarized the woes of yukhei’s pining for the past couple of days. he could probably go on with more reasons, but they all lead to the same conclusion: jungwoo was off-limits.

yet as the week went on, he continued torturing himself by constantly texting jungwoo despite his busy schedule. it was all very _mundane_ and immature; he had a family to take care of, business to deal with, and yet he constantly texted his crush (?) like a fucking teenager.

he really should get his shit together. he should stop smiling at his phone when he, ten, and some of their men are in the middle of a ~~torture session~~ interrogation. he should stop daydreaming with a dopey smile on his face as they stressed over their lost supplies in cheongdam-dong. he needs to stop thinking about jungwoo.

but then his brain would start replaying the memory of jungwoo blushing and laughing in his office and _fuck_ , yukhei just wanted to kiss him. and hold his hand. and eat the food he would cook with mama suh.

maybe he should have seen it coming. yukhei was attracted from the start, he should have backed off when he saw jungwoo and his purity as something utterly delicious, something he wanted to taste.

but then jungwoo turned out to have such a lovely character as well, and yukhei was obsessively thinking about doing soft things with him. it was disgusting.

and ten, observant as ever, would give him weird looks through the days that followed their little dinner inside “xuxi, focus.” he would say quietly, in mandarin.

it was the knowledge that ten was starting to suspect something that would make yukhei get back to work, the fear of the consequences breaking through the jungwoo haze clouding his brain.

so he would go on, his days consisting of this weird cycle where he tries to forget jungwoo, throws himself into work while trying not to think of him, jungwoo replies to the text he sent from before, he texts back with something new, and then it starts all over again. it’s endless, sweet torture. 

yukhei knew that at this rate he was going, jungwoo would figure out his feelings pretty damn soon. he should really tone it down.

but of course, yukhei wasn’t an expert at hiding his feelings. of course, he slipped so soon.

it was thursday that week when the sound of a shot being fired from the estate’s backyard made yukhei stop talking half a sentence through during his meeting with johnny and doyoung. he paused and waited in silence, before another shot rang throughout the main home. 

johnny and doyoung, who was listening to him intently, raised their eyebrows at his sudden silence. “xuxi?” doyoung asked, sharing a curious glance with johnny. “you were saying?” 

“what’s going on in our backyard?” yukhei asked, completely forgetting the drug issue in cheongdam-dong. someone was using the shooting range so early in the morning. 

it wasn’t as if they don’t normally do shooting practices, but they usually make use of the firing range if there are new recruits. “new recruits?" he asked johnny.

“no, of course not.” johnny told him truthfully, eyebrows furrowing in confusion– he was here anyways, the new recruits wouldn't have went to the shooting range without his consent. "they know better."

there was the sound of another shot, making yukhei frown. he would understand if the new serpents were using the shooting range on a saturday. but it was _thursday_ and johnny was with him. 

if these weren't the new recruits, then…

his thoughts were barely formed but his gut already told him who it was, making him rise from his seat abruptly. _it can’t be_. 

“xuxi?” 

yukhei quickly rushed to the nearest window, the one overlooking the backyard where the shooting range was. he carelessly tossed the curtain to the side, ignoring the harsh light pouring through the room. 

just as he thought, there were three small figures, one in a light blue sweater and the other wearing a black fitted jacket. even from a distance, yukhei could tell that it was jungwoo and ten. 

completely forgetting doyoung and johnny, yukhei started to walk fast out of the room and quickly started heading towards the back door and straight to the shooting range, fingers twitching in fury. 

his long legs made him go down the flights of stairs and out in the open quickly. with his brisk walking, everyone in his way quickly moved out and averted their eyes when they saw how furious he looked. 

ten was the first to see him even from afar, while jungwoo obliviously held the pistol between his hands and looked right at the target on the other side of the backyard. he had large soundproof headphones on, and the look of concentration he had on his face would have been adorable in any other situation. 

ten stiffened as yukhei moved closer. “xuxi—“

yukhei snatched the gun away from jungwoo’s hands aggressively, eyes flaming as he looked at jungwoo. 

“huh—?” jungwoo startled, slipping the headphones off in shock at the sudden hostility. “wha— xuxi? what are you doing?” 

yukhei ignored him and the gentle way the headphones mussed his hair. his blood was boiling as he turned to ten. “what the fuck is this?” 

ten didn’t look scared nor flustered, despite knowing that yukhei was legitimately pissed off. yukhei hated this kind of calm from ten; it usually meant that yukhei was being unreasonable with his anger. “i’m teaching him to shoot. just in case something happens.“

the thought of something happening to jungwoo did not sit well with yukhei. seeing him with a gun felt so _wrong_. something so tainted shouldn’t be placed on the hands of someone so, so— 

yukhei’s hands curled in frustration. _so… what?_

what was so wrong about jungwoo holding a gun? deep down, he knows that his anger is irrational and a bit too much but he can’t find it in his mind to care. 

“nothing’s going to happen to him.” yukhei said, deadly calm. “we will make sure that he is kept safe at all times, no matter the cost.” 

the serpent can feel jungwoo’s eyes on him, curious and devastatingly perceptive. in the back of his mind, there was fear in what jungwoo might see as he saw yukhei’s sudden outburst. but yukhei was already in the situation, already showcasing such strong feelings. there was no turning back. 

jungwoo can read his intentions for all he cares. what mattered was that the gun wasn’t in his hands anymore.

ten watched him with a calm expression on his face. “xuxi. you understand, more than i do, that he needs this. he can’t always be safe, he must be able to hold himself when something goes wrong.” 

“he is not allowed to hold a gun.” yukhei shouted, taking all of them by surprise. his hands— his normally calm, steady hands— were slightly shaking in anger as ignored the heat of the gun and disassembled the pistol with expert fingers. the sound of metal being taken apart was loud in the now silent backyard. “we’d make a fucking human shield if we have to. he will not fight. ” 

somewhere along the words he just said made jungwoo spring into action from his peripheral vision and suddenly, there was a welcome warmth on top of his hands. yukhei startled, dropping the pistol parts on the ground. 

“xuxi?” jungwoo said softly, grip on both his hands tightening. 

just like that, the serpent’s anger dissipated completely. it was replaced with something now, something like extreme worry and helplessness because— _what if they get to jungwoo? what if they hurt him?_

yukhei realized his mistake. it was now obvious, to ten and to jungwoo, that the serpent was feeling something that goes further than the responsibility he had over irene’s brother, the responsibility she paid for. he could feel ten’s heavy gaze of grave understanding and he knew that ten finally understood why we was being weird these past couple of days.

he refused to look up, in case he ends up doing something he would regret. at that moment, yukhei realized that he doesn’t know how to _deal_ with this, with his heart that seemed to burst because of the kim-bae. it’s suddenly too much to be there in the backyard. 

“xuxi, i know you’ll take care of me.” jungwoo continued to say so trustingly, thumbs making half-circular motions on yukhei’s hands as if to soothe. the serpent didn’t know whether to push them away or pull jungwoo closer so all he could do was stand there, frozen. 

yukhei forced himself to meet jungwoo’s gaze, seeing an expression so unguarded that it made him want to do…something, anything, _everything,_ just to make sure the other’s decency remains unscarred despite it all. 

“i know you’ll take care of me,” jungwoo continued, pausing the movement of his thumbs on yukhei’s skin, “but the life you live— the life _we_ live in is dangerous. even if all of this blows over, there will always be people after my family. i won't survive if i'm ignorant.” 

_the life we live_? yukhei wanted to laugh. this wasn’t jungwoo’s life. drugs, gang, blood. it isn’t his life, it isn’t his place to be here. yet he is, and that— that’s what makes yukhei mad. 

the gun shouldn’t have been in jungwoo’s hands.

“wong yukhei.” jungwoo said sternly when yukhei did not reply, though the older boy’s expression was soft, so soft. his eyes were kind as they held the gaze of the serpent, reducing yukhei into the boy he should have been. “i am not made of glass. i will never resort to killing or hurting anyone, but i have to learn how to protect myself if the situation calls for it.” 

yukhei looked down on their hands, which were curling around each other. jungwoo didn’t lift a finger, didn’t break physical contact. his touch made yukhei warm, warm all over. 

the serpent felt vulnerable— and it’s absolutely frightening, how easy it was to be like this in front of jungwoo.

“it only takes one bullet for you to die, hyung.” yukhei said quietly, his words sounding very much like an apology. and it was, in a way.

he admission felt like a secret he suddenly exposed in the middle of the vast backyard, and it terrified yukhei how quickly those words came out of his mouth just because of jungwoo. 

in his peripheral vision, he could see ten look at them in shock. by this time, yukhei should have said something terrible and walked off to regret it in solitude. he should have done something stupid, like hurt the other person one way or the other. ten knows this, because he had been on the receiving end of this anger so many times. 

but yukhei…. yukhei realized he can’t bear to do something he’d regret in front of jungwoo. he can’t bear to see him sad, much less tear up. he finally understood how irene could be shamelessly vulnerable in front of her brother, no matter who was in the room. 

at that moment, a scary thought popped up on his mind; something about how far he was willing to go just to make sure he wouldn’t ever see jungwoo’s eyes wet with tears. it should worry him immensely, how much power the older boy has over him.

but jungwoo was only ever pure and sincere. the day his heart breaks, yukhei wouldn’t think of his feelings as a waste if it was all for jungwoo.

“xuxi.” jungwoo muttered, stepping closer with his hand still there, as if the serpent was just another ordinary boy. as if yukhei’s hands were clean to touch, and did not drip with the blood of too many for someone his age. “i’m not going to die. not with you doing everything you can to keep me alive. okay?” 

the proximity and the touch were a lot. briefly, yukhei forgot how to breathe. “okay.” 

jungwoo sighed in an endeared, exasperated manner as he bent down to pick the dismantled pistol from the ground. “so,” he started to say in a lighter tone, “are you going to stop being overdramatic now and let me hold a fucking gun?”

yukhei gaped at the older boy while ten burst out in surprised laughter. just like that, the moment disappeared and the scary vulnerability yukhei felt was now replaced by embarrassment.

“it just—i—” yukhei stuttered over ten’s ugly laughing. “no one told me you had shooting lessons! it caught me—i was surprised. did irene even agree to this?” a pause. “oh god, she’s going to kill me.”

jungwoo raised an eyebrow. “no she’s not, because she agreed to it yesterday. ”

“oh, thank god.” yukhei sighed. before jungwoo could ask whether that was the reason he freaked out, yukhei continued, “the noise disrupted the meeting.”

it was true, but it obviously wasn’t the reason. thankfully, jungwoo didn’t know that despite yukhei’s inability to lie, he could twist the truth and make it seem like something else. “oh, sorry about that.” jungwoo said sheepishly.

ten was staring at yukhei with a smirk, which made him blush. “uh-huh.”

“wait why did i grab this?” jungwoo muttered, frowning at the pistol parts. “xuxi-ya, assemble this for me please.” 

the underlying hint of bossiness in his tone brought a small smile to yukhei's face, as well as the little nickname. “didn’t ten hyung teach you how to assemble it?” he scolded, before taking the disassembled pistol from jungwoo. “you’re supposed to know about the parts before learning how to shoot.”

“of course i taught him the parts!” ten protested, the same time jungwoo said, “i do know the parts!”

the serpent watched in full amusement as jungwoo determinedly pointed at the pistol. “that’s a magazine—why’d they call it magazine, it’s very misleading—and there’s the safety lever, the front sight…”

yukhei’s amusement faded into fondness as he zoned out on jungwoo’s talking, not caring whether the kim-bae was pointing the right parts as he stared. he could feel ten boring holes beside him, which he ignored.

“good job.” he found himself saying when jungwoo finished. “but it’s useless to know the parts when you don’t even know how they go together.”

jungwoo shrugged. “ten hyung just showed me a powerpoint and proceeded to tell me how i’m supposed to shoot.”

“wait—a powerpoint?” yukhei asked, both of them turning to yukhei’s blushing second hand. “you had a powerpoint?”

jungwoo snickered. “no, actually it was a slides presentation on his phone with effects and all—”

“doyoung said that the magazine was called a refill! i had to prove him wrong.”

“through a powerpoint presentation?” yukhei asked, raising an eyebrow. “that you still have on your phone?”

“slides.” jungwoo corrected. “slides presentation.”

“i forgot to delete it okay?” ten said, clearly flustered. he turned to yukhei with an accusatory glare. “and xuxi, don’t you have a meeting to go back to? why the fuck are you still here?”

yukhei stiffened. _the meeting—_ “oh fuck,” he mumbled before abruptly turning back to look at his office balcony.

just as he thought, johnny and doyoung were watching them. at the sight of the three facing yukhei’s office, the two started jumping around like idiots.

“fucking dumbasses.” ten sighed tiredly. “all of you. fucking dumbasses.”

“go back to your meeting, xuxi.” jungwoo said, laughing lightly. “don’t worry about us, we got this.”

thankfully, no one mentions yukhei’s outburst again as yukhei bid them a goodbye and jogged back to the main home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i felt bad for not updating, i feel like i don’t have readers anymore LMAO for those who still support me yall are very much appreciated. comment down ur criticisms though so i can get my shit together and work harder to finish this fucking fic.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me just say that i do not have the energy to cook up a complex storyline that would hurt everyone. i’ll try my best to make some parts serious, but my brain is honestly fried so i just want them to do stupid things. make them seem like they smoke crack before going into their daily lives.

**jungwoo**

jungwoo was used to scary people getting irrationally angry at him because they care.

so when ten apologized about yukhei’s sudden outburst literally coming out of nowhere with the man himself, jungwoo honestly didn’t mind. ten might have been coming from at least a decade of working with yukhei, but jungwoo has had nineteen years of experience with his sister and about half a decade with haechan. he was no stranger to people letting out bursts of seemingly irrational anger out at him.

of course, he knew joohyun and haechan would always come from a place of love. jungwoo was more surprised (and actually a bit confused) with where yukhei was coming from because he doubted yukhei felt any love for him, especially in such a short time.

one thing’s for sure though: yukhei _does_ care for jungwoo more than he lets on. jungwoo had a feeling he was like that to everyone in the inner circle, so he knows he’s basically a part of them now. he’s basically family.

and he’s not quite sure what to do with this information.

_jesus,_ he thought, extremely stressed _._ the power jungwoo had over these people as well as his sister is too much for a normal person. if he tells them to destroy a country, they just might do it.

this realization made him uncomfortable.

a lesser man would use this to his advantage. it was horrifying how easy it was if he decided to play games and watch them fall… but jungwoo wasn’t manipulative like that.

manipulative people have the free time, the energy, and the flexibility to do mental gymnastics when they needed to reason with their rationality. frankly, jungwoo may have the free time but he didn’t have the energy and the heart to do something like that.

“you know, xuxi gets really apologetic after his outbursts.” ten said a little too casually, as they prepared to leave the backyard. “you should… talk to him.”

jungwoo’s attention snapped towards yukhei’s own second hand, who had a scheming glint in his eye. he abruptly paused from cleaning the pistol, as ten taught him a few moments ago. 

_speaking of manipulative little fuckers_ , he thought in amusement. “hyung, no.” he said, trying to be stern and failing as he snorted. “what kind of second hand are you even? i didn’t think you’d be one to betray your own cousin, best friend and _boss_.”

ten faked a look of hurt. “i didn’t even say anything yet, how very dare you!!!”

“you want me to make an impossible request to him for compensation.” jungwoo snorted. “i can see your intentions. they’re easy to read from your beady little eyes.”

ten, who initially looked like he was going to deny jungwoo’s statement, ended up looking offended. “hey! i have wonderful eyes. ‘yongie _loves_ staring at them while we—"

“nope, no, you are **not** going there. i am already too aware of what you do behind closed doors. you guys are absolutely horrifying.” jungwoo interrupted, storing the pistol into the little bag ten brought. “you know what you need? therapy. couple’s therapy. and maybe an intervention from the rest of the white serpents.”

“but taeyong and i are completely in love? what do we need therapy for?”

“toning down the honeymoon phase that has been dragging out for years.” jungwoo said. “and we need to fix your expeditionist tendencies as well.”

“you’d understand if you had a boyfriend of your own.” ten sniffed haughtily, not bothering to deny the ‘expeditionist’ part. “and anyways, i’m just saying. xuxi can have a bit of a temper—he’s loud with his emotions like that. he usually doesn’t say sorry, but he makes up for it in actions.”

jungwoo was silent at this. as they walked back to the main home of the inner circle, he considered his options.

ever since they came back to seoul, jungwoo started listing in his head things he wanted to do and see once everything blows over. he wanted to eat street food, have a drink in _pojangmachas*_ , visit his old school, go to cute cafés, and go clubbing. he also wanted to travel to the countryside and spend a week basking in the silence of nature. he wanted to learn how to cook and drive, which he was already doing.

(*pojangmachas: the blue-tarp little shops scattered among the streets in south korea, for drinking alcohol and eating street food )

and recently, he decided he wanted to visit yukhei’s summer home in busan, which taeyong had mentioned in passing. he never really had the opportunity to visit the famed busan sea back when he still lived in seoul, so maybe he can ask yukhei if he can stay there in the near future?

but then again, there’s the issue with the attempted assassination of his sister. so.

“hyung, what are my chances of leaving this estate this week?” he suddenly asked ten.

ten physically jolted, eyes wide. “kim jungwoo!”

jungwoo immediately gave up—he’s simple like that. “alright fine. not that, then.”

ten relaxed minutely. “i’m sorry, it’s just—there’s a lot going on. maybe in a month or two?”

the idea of staying within the estate for such a long time didn’t really seem all that bad; it’s not like yukhei’s estate was normal. there was a theater, a pool, excellent wifi—he could survive.

jungwoo shrugged. “alright, that’s cool. i just… how’s everything going on? i don’t know what’s happening anymore.”

“your sister did not tell you this, but her list has just narrowed down to five people. they’ve been circling around these people all day, but whoever is out to get her is _good_. they’ve been running in circles for a while now.” ten told him. “and things have been getting… well. i’m actually glad you’ve been training with us, just in case something happens.”

jungwoo felt his heartbeat quicken, alarmed that his sister hasn’t mentioned anything. “nothing bad has happened to her, right?”

ten looked at him grimly. “nothing serious. i’m not… i’m not supposed to tell you. you have to ask her yourself.”

later that night, jungwoo did end up asking his sister.

“noona. i know you don’t want to tell me about it, but i heard your list narrowed down to five people.” jungwoo said, in lieu of a greeting.

there was a sigh from the other end. “who told you?”

“doesn’t matter.” jungwoo said, a bit impatient. “noona, what’s happening?”

there was the sound of shuffling from the other line. “you’ll just worry for no reason. i’m alright. this isn’t something i haven’t handled before.”

“that doesn’t make anything better. noona, you know i can help.” jungwoo said. “i don’t want to sit here and play around when people are out there to kill you.”

“you’ll be helping me immensely by staying safe. if you put yourself in danger, i’d go insane and kill everyone within sight.” joohyun said. “besides, you’re not playing around.”

jungwoo let out a huff of frustration. “i just feel like i could be doing more than this. let me help.”

“i promise i’ll go to you if i need to.” joohyun vowed. “but right now, there’s nothing else we can do but observe them and wait.”

“noona.”

“i’m serious! we’re just waiting.”

jungwoo had no choice but to accept this. he sighed. “what about me? what can i do?”

“just… stay safe. if you want to leave the estate, you can—but you’d have to run it through lucas. and you shouldn’t do it often, since a lot of things could go wrong quickly.”

jungwoo was surprised at his sister’s use of the name ‘lucas’. he was so used to calling him either yukhei or xuxi, that he forgot how there were people who didn’t know him well enough for that. it made him feel a little smug.

“alright.”

“do you have plans to leave?” his sister asked him. “so soon?”

“not really. i can actually stay here for a month or so. but i would want to leave, of course.”

“to where?” a pause. “we can always arrange for something.”

“nowhere in particular. i just want to go to different places, see the things i’ve been missing since i spent the last decade back in the philippines.” jungwoo said. “oh! and visit xu—yukhei’s summer home in busan, maybe. hopefully soon. i heard it was lovely.”

there was a sharp inhale. “lucas’s summer home? with lucas?”

jungwoo completely missed what she was implying. “sure, if he’s not busy. probably with some of the inner circle members too. i’d be fine with just taeyong, though.”

“oh. alright.” joohyun let out a sigh which oddly seemed like relief. “you should probably tell lucas, then. once you have a concrete plan, inform me immediately.”

jungwoo snorted at this. “alright, miss ceo ma’am. you’ll be informed immediately.”

“you’re a pain.” joohyun playfully chided. “but i love you. stay safe for me, okay?”

“okay. you too.”

**yukhei**

“xuxi?”

yukhei looked up from the paperwork to see ten hovering by the door of his office. he, like yukhei, was impeccably dressed in an expensive suit. unlike yukhei’s, though, his suit had tiny chinese characters ‘white serpent’ and their emerald-white emblem embroidered by the cuff links.

they’ve been dressed in the same get-up every day for the past week because of all the people visiting them for their latest weaponry. specifically, for guns developed by yuta in japan that silently shoots a drug which sinks into the skin and spreads poison quickly through the body.

yukhei sighed when ten was still staring at him from the door. “god, hyung, just go in it’s not like you have any manners.”

“rude.” ten murmured, walking in. he closed the door behind him forebodingly, before facing his boss with a look of utter disappointment that it made yukhei stare in half-alarm.

“what’s… what’s up, what’s happening? why are you looking at me like that?”

“do you have any plans to apologize to jungwoo properly after your little outburst?” ten demanded, sitting on one of the chairs in front of yukhei’s desk primly, like an aggrieved mother complaining to the principal. “it’s been a day. from what i know, you haven’t talked to him since.”

yukhei’s whole body stiffened. “i’m… i have plans.”

his reply was so disappointing that he felt he actually deserved the glare ten was shooting him. “xuxi, he’s not like us you know? he’s been here for a couple of weeks, not years like the rest of us. you should apologize.”

yukhei narrowed his eyes, a little pissed. “hyung. do i have to remind you that we’re busy dealing with the india shipment? and indonesia? and macau? not to mention, the knp are after our asses when we’ve avoided them for so long.”

(*knp: korean national police)

ten was unimpressed. “never stopped you from texting him the most ridiculous shit.”

yukhei gaped at his second hand. “remind me how you’re still my second hand?”

“it’s because i’m efficient and your life would fall apart if i wasn’t.” ten replied, not missing a beat. “also, you know i’m right. we have very capable men in charge of this, including siwon and yesung who were supposed to be retired. and as your second hand—or, basically, a glorified secretary who knows your itinerary more than you yourself do—i’m telling you now: you may not have a lot of free time in your hands, but you have enough to apologize to jungwoo.”

yukhei was silent for a moment, clutching the papers a little tightly in his hand. “why are you pushing for this?”

“because while jungwoo was too nice and said that he didn’t mind, it might have confused him or hurt his feelings.” ten said, before leaning forward. “which brings me to the second thing i wanted to talk about.”

ten, of course, paused dramatically after saying this. yukhei wanted to smack his cousin—he doesn’t have time for this.

“jesus. just fucking _ask_.”

his second hand remained undeterred, eyes glinting. “i’ve been noticing a very unusual behavior." he started to say, slow in his enunciation.

yukhei’s impatience disappeared, replaced with a tiny bit of fear. he felt himself start to sweat, although he kept his face neutral. “what behavior?” he asked, almost getting away with it if his voice didn’t crack at the end.

_damn it._

ten squinted at him. “hmm.” he hummed vaguely. “you know, you can never really hide anything from me, xuxi. and i didn’t even say anything yet. why do you sound so guilty?”

“yes.”

“what?”

“what?”

“what do you mean yes—"

“okay, fuck it—you’re right. i’m being weird. i’m being weird because i like jungwoo.” yukhei rushed out, sounding not at all like a renowned leader of the white serpents who was known to manipulate his way out of a sticky situation. at that moment, he seemed more like a five-year old drowning in guilt.

very soon, he realized his mistake. yukhei’s face started to feel extremely hot as he witnessed, for the first time ever in his life, ten’s jaw dropping.

he continued rambling, “don’t look at me like tha—i know, okay, i know it’s fucked up! i’m losing my mind, hyung. all i keep thinking about recently is how much i want to give him kisses—not on the lips but maybe on the forehead too? and if i can hold his hand or—or like, cuddle? that would be nice. also maybe hear him laugh at least once every day? it’s bad. like i didn’t even _understand_ why i was angry yesterday it was just—something. it’s bad. it’s bad, i kno—wait, are you crying?”

yukhei stopped himself abruptly and was absolutely alarmed to see ten’s eyes tear up. there was an ugly expression on his cousin’s face, like he didn’t know whether to laugh or break down.

“hyung?”

“holy shit.” ten said, voice unnaturally small, high-pitched, and squeaky. it was freaking yukhei so much, he was breaking into goosebumps. “holy _shit,_ look at you—you’re a mess! and you have a crush on jungwoo! kim jungwoo! the kim-bae child of the two most horrifying chairmen in the korean industry and brother of the —no, brother of fucking bae _irene_. forget horrifying chairmen, jungwoo is related to a fucking beast of a ceo. he belongs to a family of utter terror _personified_.”

yukhei wanted to duck his head behind the papers he was holding and die. “oh, god.”

“you—and—this is golden! you haven’t had a crush on _a boy_ before!” ten continued, sounding more and more hysterical. “and you never talked about them like this, all those fucking bitches!”

“hey, that’s kind of derogatory—”

“maybe with yuqi? but that wasn’t really…” ten murmured, more to himself. yukhei was horrified to have his old flame thrown back to his face, which ten ignored as he continued to holler, “and now you have a crush on a boy, to _kim jungwoo no less_ , and it’s so bad you’re actually trying to talk to me about it!”

ten looked at his cousin a little manically. yukhei shivered a little, not used to seeing his cousin like this. “hyung, stop.”

“no, you don’t get to tell me to stop, i am—!!!!!!” ten practically hollered, cutting himself off as he vibrated in his seat. yukhei thanked his grandfather for having enough foresight to make the office soundproof. “this is a whole fucking mess but i am so happy for you!”

yukhei felt the strong urge to lie down. “what? why?”

“you guys are absolutely adorable.” ten gushed, before promptly bursting into tears. yukhei watched as the man who once prided himself to be the most sane and mature person among the inner circle was reduced into a sobbing, laughing mess.

“what the fuck, hyung? stop cryin—why are you crying?! why are you—stop, you’re scaring me!”

“i’m just so happy because this relationship is pure chaos—what with the whole family thing, especially with irene— but it could actually work!” ten said, sniffling. “yuqi—”

yukhei dropped his forehead into one hand. “can we stop bringing her into the conversation—”

“was the closest i saw to you ever being in love.” ten continued, lost in his own little rant. “yukhei. i’m telling you now. this can work—with yuqi, she was gay and permanently residing in china so it really couldn’t have worked.”

“hyung, he’s a _job_.”

“excuse you, kim jungwoo is a friend of the family.” ten declared, making yukhei gape. their so-called ‘family friends’ are people that the serpents normally associate with, who have had signed contracts promising the secrecy of their interactions with the family. it’s a whole official thing.

ten just claimed jungwoo as one so casually.

“did you have him sign _without my permission—_ ”

“of course not, don’t be ridiculous.” ten said, waving it off. “i didn’t mean the official family friend—the point is, he’s more than just a job. you of all people should know that. and you have a _chance_ , yukhei.”

“hyung, what the _fuck_ are you saying? chance? _what_?”

ten must have sensed the slight desperation in yukhei’s tone, because he immediately sobered up. sighing, he leaned to look yukhei in the eye. “look, i’m sorry i overwhelmed you. i’m just really happy. and… i understand. you’re not in love.”

the last sentence wasn’t a question. yukhei said nothing.

“you’re not in love, but you could be. you could be in love and— and happy.” ten continued softly. “for all your dumb-assery, i only ever want this for you, you know?”

“i know, hyung.” yukhei said quietly. “but. you’re overreacting. i mean it’s just a crush.”

ten looked at him with a melancholic smile. an unspoken _you and i both know it won’t be like that for long_ hung in the air.

“if you haven’t noticed,” ten chose to say instead, “we wong’s don’t quite fall in love—we hurtle, quite painfully, downwards and don’t get up for a very long time. my mom called it a family curse, but you see how seulgi noona and i turned out, right? how could it be a curse when we’re actually happy?”

yukhei’s mind flashed with a memory of his mother’s closed casket, shortly followed by his father’s episode of pure rage. suddenly, yukhei felt like he was being choked.

“are you scared?” ten asked gently.

_scared of what?_ yukhei wondered, as ten patiently waited for him to answer. _irene? jungwoo’s parents?_

_the quick, painful hurtling into the unknown?_

yukhei wasn’t one to lie, so he didn’t say anything. it didn’t matter anyway; the answer might as well have been written all over his face.

“i’m here to tell you now that it’s going to hurt.” ten continued. “as to the intensity of the pain, it always depends. it’s different for everyone. but you should know now that you can never suppress it, you can only let it happen.”

“hyung, seriously. what am i supposed to do then? i don’t have time to let anything happen.” yukhei admitted. it was all too dramatic but all too real, and he was tired. “i don’t have—the luxury.”

“maybe.” ten replied helpfully. “but that’s not really the problem. time, effort—you’ll find yourself giving them away for him, even if you supposedly don’t have any of these left.”

“…how the hell am i supposed to function properly then?”

“xuxi. everyone chooses the people they give their time, effort and _love_ to—family, friends, significant others. we’re all eventually going to give those things away at some point in our lives, so the real focus should not be on how to avoid it. instead you should be figuring out _who_ you should give these precious things up for.”

“i already know.” yukhei interrupted. “the white serpents. the family.”

“you’re saying this as if jungwoo can’t be a part of that.” ten observed, before sighing. “look—if you’re scared of the way things will turn out, then the only way to confirm whether your fears are valid is to figure out whether jungwoo is worth all that. even if he doesn’t feel the same. ultimately, it’s up to you to know.”

the sound of the clock ticking as they fell into silence felt a bit foreboding; at the back of his mind, yukhei knew he had a lot of work left to do for the day. but instead of turning back to his work, yukhei found himself asking, “what about you? what do you think, hyung?”

ten didn’t seem surprised that he asked, as he smiled. “why does it matter what i think? even though i’m your second hand, it’s not my heart we’re talking about.” he said a little teasingly, although his eyes were solemn.

“still.”

“you know my answer, yukhei. and even if you do, like i said, it’s not up to me.” ten said unhelpfully.

seeing yukhei’s eyes flicker unconsciously towards the papers, ten decided to stand up. “i’m sorry for keeping you so long. just… think about it. don’t worry about everything else, just figure out whether or not jungwoo’s worth it.”

yukhei smiled half-heartedly at his cousin. “okay, hyung.”

“start with an apology. see where things go.” ten advised, waving a hand as he walked out of yukhei’s office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just to be clear, if you haven’t figured it out already: ten’s mom and seulgi’s mom are the sisters of yukhei’s dad. that’s why they still have their last names.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> recap (since yall probs forgot this fic already lmao): last chapter, ten confronted yukhei about his feelings for jungwoo after the whole shooting incident. this chapter, yukhei’s gonna apologize and life goes on. also, introducing new characters that were added to the tags, maybe more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sneaks back in to ao3 more than three months later, after the torture that is summer online classes and the abuse of the philippine govt*
> 
> hey guys. so. i’m back. socio-political climate here SUCKS DICK I’VE BEEN SO STRESSED AND UPSET but i also didn’t like the thought that i was leaving you guys hanging. i’m really sorry, i hope you understand. i’ve been swamped with academic and org work as well, that’s why it took so long.
> 
> is anyone still even reading this? whatever, i finally finalized what i have to do. i’ll try to finish everything, even when classes start again soon. also, i felt bad bc i saw all the comments. really sorry babes, i hope you understand. it feels like hell here.

**jungwoo**

“hyung.”

jungwoo startled, dropping his phone on his face from where he was lying on the couch. “yukhei?” he asked, blearily.

it was fuck am in the morning, too early for a saturday, but taeyong wanted him up and early for his first shooting session with the other recruits. while the thought was heart-warming, as taeyong took it upon himself to prepare jungwoo a big breakfast in the kitchen, jungwoo did not appreciate being woken up when the sun wasn’t even up yet.

so he deals with it through setting up explosives and bombing unsuspecting cattle. in minecraft.

but of course, the peace in this household never really lasts long.

he quickly removed the phone from his nose, trying to ignore the pain (and the seemingly disapproving ‘hmm’ of the villagers from the game) as he looked up to find yukhei hovering by with an apologetic look on his face.

he did not miss the way yukhei was immaculately dressed so early on a saturday, just as most of the inner circle members were lately, and he tried his best not stare. instead, he narrowed his eyes at the guilty way yukhei seemed to be standing.

despite his big boy clothes, yukhei looked more like a toddler who just got caught trying to eat soap. on any other situation, it would have been endearing but the way he was avoiding jungwoo’s gaze…

“what did you do.” jungwoo asked warily, hands massaging his temples. “no, wait, whatever it is, can you tell me after breakfast? i really am not in the mood.”

“ah, hyung, it’s not—well. this is about my outburst the day before.” yukhei said, wincing. “i just wanted to apologize for—for not apologizing sooner, and for doing… all that.” he finished lamely.

jungwoo sat up properly, closing the app on his phone to stop the awkward sound of the cows mooing their betrayal before patting the space beside his. “you couldn’t have texted me this?” he asked, although not unkindly. “and anyway, it’s honestly fine. it’s not a big deal.”

_i understand that when you feel, you feel with your whole heart,_ jungwoo didn’t say. he noticed how different yukhei now was from the yukhei he met in the private room all those days ago; the yukhei back then was a little bit harder to read but the yukhei now wore his emotions so openly. it must be because he’s with loved ones, with family.

jungwoo wondered which one he was. _a job_ , his brain supplied helpfully.

the sound of scuffling snapped jungwoo back to the present, as yukhei slowly made his way to sit next to him. jungwoo almost rolled his eyes at the sheepish way the supposed gangster was moving; this was all a bit too dramatic for the kim-bae, seeing as yukhei didn’t really do anything to hurt him. “it _is_ a big deal. for me.” yukhei said.

“oh? well i just needed you to explain your side, really.” jungwoo admitted. “i’m not sure i understand where you were coming from. but i know it’s because you care for me, right?”

his words did nothing to make yukhei look any less guilty; in fact, it seemed like jungwoo was making things worse. “yes, but. i’m still really sorry hyung…” yukhei apologized so sadly, reminiscent of a scolded puppy.

“are you… are you trying to act cute right now?” jungwoo asked disbelievingly when he saw yukhei pout. yukhei abruptly stopped, cheeks reddening in response, making jungwoo laugh in disbelief. “are you—xuxi, oh my god, think about your street cred!”

“hyung! i’m serious.”

“i’m also very, very serious. oh god, xuxi, you shouldn’t face anyone like this. i’m not mad, alright? we’re okay.”

yukhei looked like he was trying his hardest not to pout and jungwoo had the strangest urge to keep making yukhei feel guilty in the future just so he could keep seeing this side of him. gone was the yukhei he met at that private room when he arrived to seoul, replaced by this huge, overgrown baby.

not for the first time, jungwoo was a little scared of his privilege. he has so much _power_ in his hands.

“look, i just want to apologize alright? i’m really sorry. you weren’t supposed to be on the receiving end of my temper. i was just stressed with everything that’s been happening.” yukhei admitted, moving closer to put his head on jungwoo’s shoulder and wrapping his hands around jungwoo’s arm as if to shake him. “and i especially didn’t like seeing you hold a gun, because i—i hate imagining a situation where you would need to.”

jungwoo tried not to stiffen, surprised at the sudden (super close!!!) contact. he knew yukhei could get touchy with the members of his family, and it wasn’t the first time he experienced it, but. it wasn’t the usual hand-on-his-elbow or hand-on-the-small-of-his-back.

yukhei was almost _hugging_ jungwoo’s arm. and pressing his front body on jungwoo’s side.

his brain was trying not to short-circuit; he wasn’t registering any of what yukhei just said—yukhei was warm, the physical contact was nice, and he smelled so, so good.

jungwoo was slowly starting to accept that he is a very gay man for yukhei, but he was hoping this acceptance would make him less obvious. he was hoping yukhei couldn’t hear how hard his heart was beating.

“it’s really fine.” he found himself saying automatically, patting a nervous hand at yukhei’s (really soft, really bouncy) hair. the physical contact and the way yukhei looked weren’t helping him keep his sanity intact—he would have said _it’s fine_ to anything yukhei would tell him. he cleared his throat, not liking the thought. “it’s alright, okay? there’s really nothing for me to forgive.”

“even if you say it’s fine, what i did is still wrong.” yukhei told him. jungwoo took a deep inhale to try and think of something to say, which quickly became a huge mistake because _holy shit he smells so good—_

_mmfglsdkf_ , jungwoo’s brain provided smartly, trying its best to help. it wasn’t.

while jungwoo tried to come up with _words_ and maybe string them into a sentence, yukhei took his silence as agreement. he pulled away from jungwoo quickly, sitting up properly, and jungwoo was a little glad about the distance.

“i’m really sorry, hyung.” yukhei said earnestly. “i know—i know what i did was such a dick move. is there any way i can compensate for it? is there anything i can do?”

“hmm?” jungwoo asked, his thoughts finally in order. realizing what yukhei just asked, he raised both eyebrows at the serpent.

_jesus_. ten really wasn’t lying when he said that yukhei gets really apologetic after his outbursts. 

“what do you want?” yukhei asked, “anything that’s— reasonable, i’ll get it for you.”

“xuxi,” jungwoo sighed. “i don’t—"

“i know that you already have everything you could possibly want, but you have to let me know if there’s anything else so that i can get it for you.” yukhei interrupted. “it’s the only way i would stop feeling bad.”

jungwoo made an angry noise in reply. there was a yelp from the serpent that followed shortly, as the kim-bae yanked (with great difficulty) the giant into a hug.

“hyung!”

“i don’t need anything from you but an explanation, and you already gave it.” jungwoo said firmly, forcefully tucking his chin above yukhei’s head. he knows his heart is beating too fast, too loud. he hoped yukhei thinks it’s from the adrenaline of aggressively hugging yukhei.

“mmpf.” yukhei grunted in reply, seemingly overwhelmed.

“wong yukhei. you have to know early on this life that forgiveness can’t be easily bought. you have to work for it—you’ll have to explain yourself and accept what you did was wrong. then you’ll have to change for the better. it’s an uncomfortable process, but that’s how you learn. there’s no buying your way out of this.” jungwoo said gently, shaking yukhei a bit. “and i already forgave you, okay? so stop it. we’re alright.”

yukhei pulled back from his uncomfortable crouch to look at jungwoo in the eye. he seemed embarrassed. “sorry hyung. you’re right.”

“you’re forgiven.” jungwoo said, before yukhei could say anything else. he then held yukhei’s gaze. “this wasn’t much of a grave offense anyway, so i’m not really all that pressed. but the next time you do something really shitty, like lie to me or betray my trust i’m going to shoot your fucking… actually, i don’t even know, maybe your hands.”

the serpent raised an eyebrow. “my… hands?”

“no, your _fucking _hands.” jungwoo corrected. “i’ll shoot your _fucking_ hands.”

the grave expression yukhei had on his face completely dispersed. “oh no, not my fucking hands.”

for that, jungwoo felt that yukhei very much deserved the harsh slap the kim-bae inflicted on the serpent’s shoulder. “you little shit, i’m fucking serious.” jungwoo said, failing to frown.

“alright, hyung.” yukhei said, a little too happily for someone who might get his hands shot in the future. “i’ll let you shoot my hands. we’re good now, right?”

“we’re okay.” jungwoo confirmed, tackling yukhei into another hug.

a confused noise interrupted their little moment, and the two broke apart to see jaehyun standing by the hallway looking very handsome in an embroidered silk suit. jungwoo almost rolled his eyes at the sight; jaehyun’s outfits are always a lot more dramatic and flamboyant than corporate.

_he doesn’t even have a shirt underneath the suit_ , jungwoo thought, inwardly sighing.

“what’s going on here?” jaehyun asked, walking carefully into the living room.

“nothing.” jungwoo said, before gesturing towards jaehyun’s entirety. “what the fuck are you wearing?”

“you don’t like it?”

“it’s fine, but you look like a very rich, very gay rich man who wants all eyes on him.” jungwoo criticized. instead of looking insulted, jaehyun _glowed_ at jungwoo’s comment.

“well, thank you. i am, in fact, all of the above.” jaehyun said, winking at jungwoo.

jungwoo made a little noise, finding the wink adorable as he stood up from where he was sitting and pinched jaehyun’s cheeks.

“you fucking flirt.” jungwoo cooed, pinching the other’s cheeks too hard. “our wittle, gay heartbweaker.”

“ow!”

“did you eat breakfast already, hyung?” yukhei asked suddenly. jungwoo turned around, forgetting jaehyun completely and remembering taeyong cooking food in the kitchen.

“oh right! taeyong’s cooking breakfast!” jungwoo said, rushing to the kitchen. the two followed him and by the time they reached the hallway connecting the living room to the kitchen, there was already a faint smell of something fried and greasy wafting in the air. when they entered the kitchen, taeyong was already setting bacon and hash browns on two large plates.

“woo, i was about to call you—oh, nice of you to pick those two up.” taeyong said, looking up once to the group before throwing something into the pan. “i knew you’d be awake by now, xuxi. meeting with kard today?”

“yeah.” yukhei answered.

jaehyun raised his fingers half-heartedly before saying, “i’m checking the bars today.”

“well, that’s nice, jae,” taeyong said pleasantly, “but i didn’t ask you.”

jaehyung looked downright offended at this. “ _hey_ —”

“card?” jungwoo interrupted as he took a seat, before realizing it wasn’t his place to ask. he’s been so involved with the serpents that he forgot he’s not really a part of them, and that their dealings shouldn’t concern him unless it puts him in danger. “ah, i mean—”

“yeah, k-a-r-d. they’re new to the underground scene, maybe just five years.” jaehyun shared anyways. jungwoo stole a glance at yukhei and taeyong; they didn’t seem to mind jaehyun telling him either. _for gangsters, they’re too trusting_ jungwoo thought, almost wincing visibly. “but they’ve gained a large following, almost half as big as us now. their ‘king’ is BM, and he’s a direct descendant of black pearl royalty.”

“black pearl is a huge gang in california; we didn’t know about them until we had to do a background check on BM.” yukhei interjected as he grabbed a plate and some food, before jungwoo could ask. “anyway, it’s nothing to worry about. kard just dabbles in drugs, liquor and clubs.”

“alright, cool.” jungwoo said, after a short bout of silence, not exactly knowing if this was the right reaction. taeyong and yukhei exchanged a look, silently laughing.

“what?”

“we like to tell you things because you don’t really seem to care.” taeyong said, putting the rest of the food on the table. the others started digging in, snorting at the look on jungwoo’s face.

“it could all be a ruse.” jungwoo almost stammered, stunned at the amount of trust. “i could be pretending to be uninterested to get information for another gang.”

there was another bout of silence, as the serpents looked at each other.

“mmm…” taeyong said with extreme doubt, tilting his head. yukhei sipped his water with the most insulting look jungwoo ever seen.

“nah.” jaehyun said so confidently before jungwoo could speak, seconded by a small ‘nah’ by yukhei. “you forget that you’re here because your sister’s being attacked? and that you’re new to the whole thing?”

“okay, fine, there’s that.” jungwoo admitted, blushing a bit. a small part of him wanted to whack yukhei in the face, just so he wouldn’t look so insulting. “also, i’ll have all of you know, i don’t really care because it’s not really my place and i know you got your mafia shit handled. it’s not like i could give value-adding opinions on things i don’t really know about.”

“huh? but you’re pretty analytical, hyung. you actually help us with your input.” yukhei said, reaching over to grab some food.

jungwoo made a scoffing noise, trying not to preen at the comment. maybe he doesn’t want to hit yukhei after all.

“also, and i can’t believe i’m saying this, i think it’s nice to hear from someone normal and took up political science during college. you really got this power play shit _down_.” jaehyun said, ruining it.

“what’s that supposed to mean?” jungwoo said, offended. “do you want to catch these hands _,_ jung?”

“no, i’m good thanks.”

“all i’m saying is,” jungwoo continued, “you shouldn’t trust me so quickly, especially when i’m not a part of the family.”

“it’s fine, you’re related to us by marriage.” jaehyun said, waving a hand dismissively. jungwoo raised an eyebrow at him questioningly at this. “your sister? seulgi?” jaehyun provided helpfully.

“they’re not married.” jungwoo said, sounding very unsure. “unless…?”

“no, but they might as well be. don’t tell me you look at them and not think that they’re endgame. i don’t think there’s anyone else they’d rather be with for the rest of their lives.” jaehyun said casually, like he’s talking about the weather, before biting delicately into a boiled egg.

“ah, must be nice.” jungwoo commented, eyeing taeyong who had a smug smile on his face.

“well, it _is_ fun to be in love.” taeyong said smugly, laughing at the glares the other three shot his way.

“gross.” yukhei commented intelligently, a playful grimace on his face.

“yeah, fuck you hyung.” jaehyun said, throwing a napkin towards taeyong.

“you can’t joke about these things to single guys when you’re in a loving relationship.” jungwoo added before angrily stuffing his mouth with bacon and rice. “that’s unfair.” he tried to say as he chewed.

“chew first, darling.” taeyon reminded jungwoo quietly.

“yeah, i might just date jungwoo out of spite.” jaehyun agreed, before turning to jungwoo with the sleaziest smile. “let’s date, woo?”

as if on cue, both jungwoo and yukhei choked on their bacon. “what?” yukhei asked, looking horrified. jungwoo slapped jaehyun on the shoulder, hard.

“don’t say shit like this so early in the morning.” jungwoo groaned, grabbing a mug and reaching for the coffee pot. he glared at a laughing jaehyun, dropping tons of milk and a spoon of sugar. “fuck, i’m going to need coffee for this.”

“i’m just kidding.” jaehyun said, propping his chin into his palm and looking at jungwoo with a shit-eating grin. “unless…?”

“no, iw, shut up hyung.” jungwoo grumbled, making jaehyun laugh harder.

taeyong was grinning, looking too thrilled for someone who just got called out for being in love. “i wonder how irene would react, if she finds out jaehyun’s intentions.” he commented casually.

“oh she’d probably give you hell.” jungwoo snorted, looking at jaehyun, who was shuddering already. “she’d glower at you till you find yourself in another country with a different identity.”

jaehyun was starting to look paler by the second. “i don’t think she’d stop at that.”

“you’re right. i think,” jungwoo continued, enjoying this, “she actually has a basement for torture sessions. with knives and shit. i may not know everything that goes on with how she does business but she really seems like the type of person— and i would _know_ , i’m her brother.”

“oh, for sure.” taeyong said gleefully, watching jaehyun squirm before setting his gaze on their boss. “what do you think, xuxi?”

taeyong seemed to catch yukhei at the wrong time, because he started to choke on his food again. “w-what?” yukhei coughed. jungwoo sympathetically pushed a glass of water his way, which he received with thanks.

“would irene torture jungwoo’s suitors in a secret basement? do you think she’d do that?”

yukhei gulped down his water before looking jungwoo dead in the eye. “i think she’d go for mental torture. she’d be setting up all these mind games, gauging if you’re mentally capable to handle being her brother’s boyfriend.” he said so seriously, that it made jungwoo a little nervous.

“um…” jungwoo said, not sure what to say to this.

“well, actually, you might be right.” taeyong said, wincing. “holy shit, i’m so sorry woo.”

“oh it’s fine. she could be worse? i mean i’ve dated some guys in college, and she didn’t really do anything to them.” jungwoo said before backtracking. “well, not that i know of… oh _damn_ , she might’ve had? what the fuck?”

“f.” jaehyun said solemnly, making jungwoo whack his arm again.

“shut up.” jungwoo muttered. he was supposed to add something to that, but then he lost all train of thought at the sight of yukhei stuffing his mouth full with bacon and rice. “no, xuxi, what the hell.”

“ahm actchwally rahning layt.” yukhei tried to explain, having the decency to cover his mouth with a hand while talking. he swallowed quickly and jungwoo’s gaze decidedly didn’t follow the motion. “hyung, coffee?”

taeyong grabbed a tumbler and handed it to jungwoo, motioning to the coffee machine next to him. instead of merely pouring coffee, jungwoo went ahead and methodically put in three (large) spoons of sugar and four spoons of powdered milk, before finally adding the coffee. when he looked up after closing the tumbler, he caught yukhei staring at him.

“…what?” jungwoo asked self-consciously, shaking the tumbler a little nervously before handing it to the serpent.

yukhei took it, still staring at jungwoo. “you know how i take my coffee?”

“well, yeah? two days ago i saw you make your coffee, and i was horrified at the amount of sugar.” jungwoo explained. taeyong huffed out a laugh, which jungwoo chose to ignore. “how are you not _diabetic_?”

“i drink lots of water?”

“ten hyung makes sure that yukhei doesn’t take any more sugar for the rest of the day.” taeyong said helpfully. “speaking of, where’s my boyfriend? aren’t you supposed to leave with him today?”

“nah, he’s working from home and he’s helping jungwoo hyung with shooting today. i told him to meet him at the shooting range, so he’s probably there already.” yukhei said. “didn’t feel like watching you both so early in the morning. sorry not sorry, hyung.”

suddenly, taeyong was casually holding up a butter knife in between his fingers. “hmmm.” he hummed vaguely as he eyed the knife with intent, making yukhei stand up quickly.

“right! running late, gotta go!” yukhei rushed, clutching his tumbler of coffee. “bye hyungs have a nice day!”

jungwoo has never seen yukhei run so fast, as the serpent disappeared in mere seconds at the slight movement of taeyong’s wrist. he glanced at both jaehyun and taeyong, who were both smirking in smug content.

“we just started eati—wha—guys, isn’t he worried about his street cred?” jungwoo asked the other two, extremely baffled. “am _i_ the only one concerned about his street cred? jesus.”

taeyong thankfully put down the knife, smiling sadly at jungwoo. the air inside the kitchen quickly turned serious. “ah, jungwoo dear. you’ll be surprised how quickly we turn these personalities off when we’re out of the estate.” he started to say, voice clear but quiet. “it’s… easy to act normal here. but outside of the estate, every inch of south korea is dangerous territory. there are eyes everywhere. you’d see how good xuxi is at donning a whole new personality.”

jungwoo’s mind goes back to the private room, with his sister, seulgi and ten. “oh. i can only imagine.”

“but it’s not just a personality.” jaehyun interjected, pushing his plate back to indicate he’s finished with breakfast. jungwoo turned to look at him.

“what do you mean?”

“he’s… a loving family person who acts like a kid.” jaehyun said, uncharacteristically serious. “but he’s also a leader, the king of the serpents. it’s not so much as constantly donning a new personality; he’s still very much _him_ , when he is outside the estate. it’s much more like choosing to let the rest of the people see only an infinitesimal part of his entire character, which seems extremely different in another context.”

“he’s still a loving family person outside the estate grounds, but it doesn’t really seem that way to other people because he keeps a lot hidden.” taeyong added quietly.

“exactly.” jaehyun said.

“isn’t that deception, though?” jungwoo said. “not that i find anything wrong about that—i understand why yukhei has to do it. but isn’t he supposedly the most honest person underground? i mean, from what ten hyung and taeyong hyung tell me, he’s known by many to be someone who doesn’t lie. isn’t deceiving people the same as lying?”

“what he does is deception, but it isn’t the same as lying. lying is explicitly telling people an untruth.” taeyong said, and it seemed as if he had this conversation with other people before. “deception is different. you act and speak a certain way, but it’s ultimately on what people assume. that’s what yukhei does.” 

“hmm that seems like _really_ toxic behavior.” jungwoo commented, stomach churning with the feeling of unease. he didn’t expect breakfast to head towards this direction.

jaehyun and taeyong laughed at his statement. “you forget we belong to the underbelly of south korea.” taeyong said gently. “i mean yeah, sure, we shouldn’t do it with our relationships. but we’re still a mafia, woo. and ‘lucas’ didn’t establish himself as an honest man beyond these walls; people just mistook him as one.”

jungwoo didn’t like this answer. it made him wonder whether yukhei was honest with him or not. “so am i just seeing just a part of his character?” he asked out loud, regretting it immediately.

the other two didn’t answer, but it was a _yes_ in itself.

jaehyun stood up, smiling wryly at them both. “as much as i’d love to chat more, i also really need to go.”

“oh sure.” jungwoo said absentmindedly, mind still reeling. “bye, hyung.”

“bye! don’t think about it too much.” jaehyun said reassuringly before leaning down to whisper in jungwoo’s ear. “you get to see a side of us that few people are allowed to see.”

with that, jaehyun left taeyong and jungwoo in the kitchen. jungwoo didn’t like the small unsettling feeling at the back of his mind, even though he knows fully that the serpents favor him and he gets to see things that everyone outside the estate doesn’t get to see.

he’s not worried about himself, really. the reminder that these were dangerous people living dangerous lives made him realize that they had a lot of enemies outside the estate.

and that’s not even including whoever is out to get his sister.

“woo.”

jungwoo turned to look at taeyong, who was watching him carefully. “yes, hyung?”

“stop thinking, alright?” taeyong said, rubbing a hand on jungwoo’s hair like the kim-bae was some sort of dog. “think of this as us easing you into this life.”

jungwoo ignored the implications of that statement, of taeyong implying he’s in it for a long time. “okay, sure, whatever, i get to shoot things today anyways. might take my mind off things.”

he didn’t miss the light dim at taeyong’s eyes a bit at this. “yeah, well, i don’t know much about guns but I don’t think that’s the mindset you’re supposed to have when holding one.”

“yeah. sure.”

“you brat, not listening to your hyung.” taeyong scolded. “get out of here or you’ll miss your first session.”

“training starts at nine! it’s seven am, hyung!!!”

“there’s new recruits, though, you might want to meet them.” taeyong said, laughing at the frown jungwoo was sporting. “go!”

\--

jungwoo found himself walking towards the shooting range, finding ten waiting for him with the most unimpressed look on his face by the back doors of the main home.

“i can’t believe xuxi asked me to babysit you today.” ten complained, in lieu of a greeting.

“good morning to you too, hyung.” jungwoo said bitterly, throwing the other a glare. “it’s not like i wanted to wake up so fucking early in the morning.”

“well, you asked for this.”

jungwoo couldn’t even deny this, because it was true. “ugh.” he said instead, although he felt a bit excited.

despite the unsettling feeling from what felt like taeyong and jaehyun hinting at a much darker side of the mafia that jungwoo was yet to experience, jungwoo was starting to feel giddy. being happy that he was about to hold a gun should worry him but it’s been a dream of his since he was young.

the dream wasn’t learning how to shoot, not really. the dream was being a charlie’s angel, and with his growing skill in weaponless combat it was high time he learned how to wield one.

“you seem excited.” ten said, a bit horrified as he stared at the kim-bae. “what the fuck?”

“well i’m sorry for enjoying our lessons instead of crying about it.” jungwoo said, trying his hardest not to have a spring in his step.

“no, but you’re actually _glowing_ for someone who woke up too early on a saturday morning.” ten pointed out. “and you never look like this during combat training.”

“i like shooting.” jungwoo admitted, shrugging. “it’s fun.”

“that might be a problem.”

“oh shut up, hyung, you’re one to talk.”

they walked towards a small group of new recruits, who were standing idly by a long line of guns laid out by the grass. they were surprisingly a lot, seeing that it was about an hour before the session actually starts, but it might have something to do with the fear that johnny instills upon them during training.

something about how ‘early is on time’ or some bullshit jungwoo was sure johnny pulled out of his ass.

speaking of johnny, he was already there with the funniest frown on his face—like he was trying to be intimidating. it made jungwoo want to bully him, but the frown was working on the new recruits who almost seemed like they weren’t breathing in case it offends him.

“i’m in the ghetto,” jungwoo quoted loudly in english, walking confidently alone towards the group of recruits. never mind if no one understood the reference; he was used to the stares, so he didn’t really feel any shame when some of the newer recruits shot him a look of utter confusion.

some of them, the newbies he was friends with, just glanced at him with a placating gaze as if it’s normal that they didn’t understand most of the things that come out of jungwoo’s mouth—which seems fair. the others just looked alarmed.

“ratatata!” jungwoo continued, voice carrying out and covering an impressively large distance. all the recruits were staring at him now.

johnny, who was standing calmly next to a gaping newbie, made eye contact.

“ratatata!” johnny yelled back as passionately, making gun signs with his hands.

the young recruits he was training collectively turned to gape at their mentor in shock, mouths open as if they couldn’t believe their respectable leader was reduced into a babbling loser like jungwoo.

jungwoo copied the gun signs and made shooting gestures towards the sky, which johnny immediately mirrored.

“you guys are fucking idiots.” ten said in english, face burning in secondhand embarrassment. “stop it!”

there was a surprised laugh that came from the general direction of a small group of newbies that jungwoo didn’t recognize—the latest batch, probably. jungwoo paused and caught the gaze of a wide-eyed recruit who immediately slapped a hand over his mouth.

“sorry, i…” the new recruit muttered in english, blushing a bit. then, catching johnny’s expressionless gaze, he immediately bowed a full ninety degrees towards jungwoo. “i—i apologize, jungwoo-ssi! i stepped out of line.“ he said loudly, switching back to korean.

his korean was accented, as if he learned the language from a household that speaks korean in a country that spoke english. jungwoo’s heart immediately went out to him. “hey no stop that, stand up.” he said hurriedly, moving quickly to make the poor recruit stand. the new recruit only gazed at him with wide eyes, looking a bit scared.

jungwoo then turned to johnny, eyeing him accusingly. “dude, what the hell are you teaching these kids?”

‘these kids’ don’t look too young, they look close to jungwoo’s age even. but jungwoo was pleased no one dared to correct him— they seemed too scared. a part of him felt a bit smug at the power he had, but the other part of him was slightly disappointed—this really was his life now.

“it’s called respect. you’re irene’s brother.” johnny defended.

“respect my ass. you’re one to talk— you keep bullying me for no fucking reason.”

“the bullying is for your character development, kim. it’s part of your ~training~.”

jungwoo didn’t dignify this with a response, rolling his eyes as he turned to the new recruit and tried to adopt a more personable air—although it was difficult, seeing as he practically had “irene’s brother” tattooed on his forehead. “hi! you’re clearly not from here, are you.” jungwoo asked in english.

“i…” the new recruit looked at johnny cautiously, like a child asking for parental consent.

“what, kid, do you want me to answer for you?” johnny asked rudely.

“hyung, you’re such an ass.” jungwoo scolded johnny, before turning back to the new recruit. “so. am i wrong?”

“no! never.” the new recruit blurted out immediately, sounding very much like he was being held at gunpoint. “i mean. no sir!”

“mm.” jungwoo winced. “ah, don’t say that. i’m wrong sometimes, i’m not perfect.”

“uh, sure—i mean, yes sir!”

“ugh, don’t call me sir! just—where are you from?” jungwoo asked, a bit frustrated.

“i—i’m from canada.” the recruit said, voice a bit small.

“woah, how the hell did you get here?” jungwoo asked, stunned. “what’s your name?”

“mark. i… well, it’s a long story, si—i mean, jungwoo-ssi.”

the canadian recruit was slowly starting to look red, looking at anywhere other than jungwoo as he didn’t seem to like the attention from The Brother of Irene. jungwoo was starting to really feel bad for the boy.

the kim-bae looked at ten, who was glaring at everyone trying to listen in on the conversation until they started pretending they were doing something else. “sorry, just. ignore them.” jungwoo sighed, rubbing his hands on his temples.

“um, which…?”

“all of them.”

“it—it’s fine, jungwoo-ssi.” mark said, switching back to korean. “i’m really fine.”

“of course you say it’s fine, you’re canadian.” jungwoo sympathized. “i’m really sorry, i made a scene and embarrassed you.”

“no, si—jungwoo-ssi, it’s really fine.” mark said awkwardly. he opened his mouth and closed it, as if not sure what to say. jungwoo waited patiently, thinking he had something to add to that, but there was nothing. the kim-bae sighed.

“please stop being scared of me?”

“wha—i’m not scared of you.” mark denied.

“mmhmm.” jungwoo hummed, unimpressed. “i don’t know what you heard, but i grew up living a normal life in the philippines. i’m not my sister. she doesn’t know tagalog.”

“that’s exactly what i hea—wait, you know tagalog?”

“yup. mabuhay, bitch.”

the phrase surprised a laugh out of mark. “oh, wow, jungwoo-ssi, you’re so fluent.”

“hey!” jungwoo chastised, slapping mark on the shoulder. “fuck you, dude.”

the new recruit looked visibly more relaxed; jungwoo tends to have that effect. “yeah, well… johnny sunbae told us not to mess with you. so i’m sorry for trying not to step out of line.”

“literally none of you are doing that.” jungwoo said. “no one is messing with me. which is a good thing? but like. it kinda sucks too, sometimes.”

mark nodded, looking around as if he’s unsure why he was still there. “um, right. sorry, i don’t to be rude, but can i ask why you pulled me aside?”

“oh!” jungwoo said, laughing sheepishly. “just wanted to pass time. and i’m sick of talking to the inner circle. my level of respect for them goes down at every interaction.”

“hey!” ten said, about a couple feet away. “i heard that!”

“well i don’t care! stop eavesdropping!”

“ahhh…” mark said, laughing a bit. “alright. that’s nice to know, i guess?”

“also, i just wanted to ask you something.” jungwoo said, turning back to mark after sticking his tongue out towards ten’s direction.

“about what?”

“why are you here? you’re a long way from home, buddy.”

“i’m… well.” mark’s face dimmed, and he seemed hesitant to continue. the mood was suddenly somber and a part of jungwoo wanted to retract the question as mark’s face changed from nervous and confused to something sadder. “there’s—well, my family were killed. back at home.”

jungwoo’s heart dropped to his stomach. “oh. oh, fuck, i’m so sorry.”

mark nodded, smiling a bit but his eyes were glassy. “yeah. so i went back here to find my dad’s family, like he told me for when shit goes down. wasn’t expecting to find a _family_ ; apparently my dad was one of yukhei’s dad’s inner circle or something?”

jungwoo winced. “right. shit, i’m sorry for asking.”

“nah, it’s aight. it’s… not really a secret, here.” mark said, looking back up to smile genuinely at jungwoo. “but this isn’t the type of thing i would usually say to someone i just met.”

“sorry.” jungwoo said sheepishly. “ugh—in the future, please remember you don’t have to tell me things if you don’t want to? i don’t want you to feel forced talking to me. i just assumed you got here for funnier reasons.”

mark quirked an eyebrow. “like what?”

“i don’t know, maybe johnny kidnapped you off the streets of seoul?” mark snorted at this. “maybe he grabbed you into a moving white van while you were with a touring around gyeongbokgung?”

“i don’t think they recruit new members that way.”

“well, how am i supposed to know? they really don’t tell me important shit, i’m always in the dark.” jungwoo said. “and it’s nice to speak to someone in english who’s not johnny hyung. he’s an ass.”

“who’s an ass?” johnny asked, suddenly appearing behind them like a summoned demon. or, just a demon because no one wanted to summon him anyway. “are you talking shit about me, lee?”

“no sir.” mark said, suddenly standing up straighter.

“proving my point, right there.” jungwoo side-commented.

johnny rolled his eyes, before pushing a gun to jungwoo. “we’re starting in a few, kim. get ready. you too, lee.”

jungwoo checked the gun and saw that it was already cocked. “yo, what the fuck i could’ve shot myself.”

“not my problem.” johnny said, smirking like the asshole he is.

jungwoo then quickly turned the gun towards johnny, who immediately put his hands up. “YO, WOO, WHAT THE FUCK?”

“DON’T MESS WITH ME HYUNG, I HAVE A GUN!”

“OH MY GOD.” mark said loudly, freaking out beside jungwoo.

the noise caught the attention of the rest, who were staring at the scene with horrified expressions. jungwoo even heard gasps.

“are they finally going to kill each other?”

“shut up, jaemin.”

“HEY, BOTH OF YOU, STOP IT!” ten yelled, walking fast towards jungwoo. jungwoo immediately put the gun down, laughing at johnny who was glaring at him.

“jesus christ, woo, you could’ve killed johnny.” ten scolded, looking a bit pissed.

“he started it!”

ten sighed, looking like he wanted to scold jungwoo but deciding against it. he was clearly frustrated. “ugh, one of these days i’m going to have a conniption because of you two.” ten said instead.

johnny, like the child he was, went closer to jungwoo and punched him in the shoulder. “too much, dude.” johnny said. “literally could’ve shot me.”

“i knew what i was doing! and it’s your fault for giving it to me, ready to shoot.”

“oh my god.” mark said, voice small beside him. he was clutching a hand over his heart like an offended maiden. “you have to calm down, jungwoo-ssi. almost gave us all a heart attack.”

this made jungwoo apologetic; his joke came off too strong and he didn’t want to lose his new friend. “ah, sorry.”

“next time, be careful alright? i taught you how to handle a gun just a couple of days ago, you could have caused an accident.” ten said, visibly trying to calm himself. “ugh, i really don’t know why i got babysitter duties _today_. get it together, woo.”

“sorry, sorry.” jungwoo said sheepishly, trying for an apologetic smile. ten and johnny loosened up at the sight. “won’t happen again.”

“damn right, it shouldn’t. that’s not a toy.” johnny said, voice soft but firm. then, in a louder voice, “positions! we’re already five minutes behind schedule. get your asses lined up or i’ll pull a jungwoo on your ugly faces.”

with that, everyone scrambled to find their positions on the opposite sides of the targets. jungwoo sighed, thinking of the long day ahead.

it’s going to be a long day.


End file.
